East Asia mulls oil stockpile, raises hopes for WTO success

East Asia mulls oil stockpile, raises hopes for WTO success

Luke Hunt, Agence France-Presse, Vientiane

Ministers from 13 east Asian countries on Thursday pledged to
shore-up energy security in the wake of record oil prices and
said they would work towards sealing a world free trade agreement
in Hong Kong later this year.

The trade and economic ministers from the 10-nation ASEAN
block plus China, Japan and South Korea also raised the prospect
of an East Asian oil stockpile as a means of combating future oil
price shocks.

"The ministers shared a common concern at the soaring oil
price on the recovering Asian economy and its negative effects on
economic growth," they said in a statement.

Other proposals included a joint impact study with agencies
such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) on the negative
economic impact of high oil prices, and energy efficiency and
diversification measures.

Japan, the only country in the region to already have its own
oil stockpile, said it was taking seriously the threat posed to
energy security by record costs and potential supply disruptions.

Chief of the Japanese delegation Hachiro Okonogi told
journalists the process of how to build a stockpile -- with
prices hovering around US$65 a barrel -- and where, would now be
referred to a working level committee.

"This is a matter that we need to discuss further," he said.

Oil and the World Trade Organization (WTO) conference to be
held in Hong Kong this December dominated talks with the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its three,
economically powerful, northern neighbours.

Issues concerning economic integration, which has witnessed
China and Japan vying for influence in Southeast Asia appeared to
have been relegated down the agenda for the time being.

South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyen-Chong said that given
recent global trade developments there was "a commitment to work
together to ensure successful outcomes" at the sixth WTO
Ministerial Conference.

Asked whether he believed the Doha agreement would be
implemented, he told AFP: "I am cautiously optimistic that it
will."

The ministerial meeting of 148 WTO members on Dec. 13-18 is
meant to set the seal on four years of talks launched in the
Qatari capital Doha that aim to deliver a comprehensive treaty
for free trade by 2006.

The talks ran into a deep impasse in the Mexican beach resort
of Cancun in 2003, mainly owing to differences over farm trade
and market access for services, and negotiators have been
struggling since to get them back on track.

The WTO's failure to hammer out an interim agreement in July
has prompted speculation that the December meeting was doomed to
failure.

However, the United States, European Union and a handful of
other key players from the WTO are to meet next month in
Switzerland to try to keep talks on a treaty liberalizing global
commerce going.

ASEAN appeared more hopeful that an agreement would be
reached, pledging its "strong support to establish the full
modalities in agriculture.

"With the developed countries being more conscious of the
needs of developing countries there is great opportunity to make
Hong Kong a success."

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and is
aiming to create a fully integrated economic community by 2020.