Energy and Security in Asia

THE ongoing revolution in Asian energy consumption has interacted with shifting patterns of diplomatic alignment and a more fluid regional military balance to increase the risk of strategic competition between the region’s established and emerging Great Powers. China’s and India’s emergence as energy super-consumers operating outside the US-dominated security architecture has raised regional tensions in both Northeast Asia and South Asia over energy security. These tensions are likely to accelerate over time unless a concerted effort is made to institutionalize more effective energy cooperation at the bilateral, regional, and global levels