German media: The US says it can provide "reliable" energy supplies to the Asia-Pacific region

With the US-Israel strike on Iran triggering a Middle East war and almost halting energy transport through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland stated that the United States can provide "reliable, affordable, and secure" energy supplies to the Asia-Pacific region and promote new energy and critical mineral cooperation with regional countries.

Since the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran led to the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader, the Middle East has been dragged into war, causing international oil and gas prices to continue surging.

This conflict has almost brought shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to a standstill. The Strait of Hormuz is an important channel for oil and gas transportation, and most of the energy supply originally flowed to Asia.

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Bernhardt said at a regional meeting held in Tokyo that President Trump's "energy dominance" policy aims to ensure "we have enough energy to promote domestic prosperity and also have the capacity to sell energy to our friends and allies." This meeting brought together representatives from 17 countries in the region.

Bernhardt said this would ensure the region has "reliable, affordable, and safe" energy supplies, and such supplies "will not be interrupted by a terrorist regime."

Bernhardt also discussed the importance of securing critical mineral supplies. Currently, countries are striving to reduce their reliance on the world's largest exporter.

Key minerals such as lithium and cobalt are widely used in electric vehicles, solar panels, smartphones, jet engines, and guided missiles.

The forum was held before the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28, bringing together political leaders and U.S. energy companies to promote commercial cooperation agreements.

"Drill, baby, drill"

According to Bloomberg, participating countries in the forum include Japan, South Korea, and Thailand, and they are expected to announce at least $30 billion in energy and mineral cooperation agreements with the United States.

Japan, the fourth-largest economy in the world, imports 95% of its oil from the Middle East. Japan announced on the same day a memorandum of understanding with Washington to jointly provide financing for "strategic infrastructure" projects in emerging markets.

Japan agreed to invest $55 billion in the United States by 2029 in exchange for Trump lowering tariffs on Japanese goods.

On Saturday, Hitachi, a Japanese company, and GE Vernova, a U.S. energy company, also agreed to look for opportunities to build next-generation small modular reactors (SMRs) in Southeast Asia.

Holtec and Mitsubishi Electric are also collaborating in the nuclear energy sector.

American company Venture Global signed a long-term contract with a subsidiary of South Korean Hanwha Group to supply 1.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas.

Trump recently posted on his social platform Truth Social: "The United States is currently the world's largest oil producer. When oil prices rise, we make a lot of money."

Trump has consistently supported the oil industry and advocated the slogan "drill, baby, drill," which was also the Republican Party's campaign slogan in 2008, aimed at promoting oil and gas production.

Source: DW

Original: toutiao.com/article/1859667832506368/

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