ASEAN’s Regional Fuel Reserve: Will a Shared Energy Plan Be Enough?

In response to increasingly severe shocks, Southeast Asian leaders are rushing to develop a shared regional fuel reserve to cushion the impact of surging oil prices during crises. This move reflects a growing recognition within ASEAN that collective action is necessary. 

For the proposal to be effective, ASEAN must overcome its history of slow action and voluntary mechanisms. The bloc must also resolve technical questions regarding reserve governance, contributions, distribution, and prioritization. Fuel stockpiles are only one part of a comprehensive strategy; ASEAN must also diversify its supply sources and accelerate its energy transition.

Responding to Instability

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is confronting a series of severe shocks, including prolonged conflict involving Iran, instability across Middle Eastern shipping routes, rising energy prices, and shortages of fertilizer and food supplies. Because these disruptions could seriously affect the daily lives of nearly 700 million people across the region, adaptation during crises is becoming more necessary than ever. [1]

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., this year’s rotating ASEAN chair, has called on member states to pursue “practical cooperation” in an increasingly unstable world. At the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Marcos stressed: “In times of increasing uncertainty, ASEAN must strengthen coordination and enhance preparedness, [and] pursue practical collective measures to ensure stable energy supplies and improve connectivity.” [2]

To support this objective, Southeast Asian leaders proposed the creation of a regional fuel reserve and a contingency mechanism for food security. This proposal carries significant strategic weight as the Strait of Hormuz—a critical route for global oil and gas flows—faces ongoing disruptions. 

Because Southeast Asian countries rely heavily on imported fuel, the region remains particularly vulnerable. Any prolonged closure of the strait would place severe pressure on energy and fertilizer supplies, driving up prices and threatening livelihoods.

Addressing these realities, Marcos declared: “Our task is to ensure that ASEAN continues to strengthen and expand intra-ASEAN trade while building the capacity to protect and reinforce our food systems across the region.” [3]

Acknowledging the Crisis, Yet Stalling on Solutions

These efforts are not without precedent, as ASEAN has attempted similar initiatives before. Since 1986, the bloc has maintained an oil security agreement, though it is widely regarded as outdated.

According to one ASEAN official, a major limitation was that “it defined an oil crisis only when a country experienced a shortfall of at least 20% of total domestic consumption.” [4]

To update this framework, energy ministers from the 10 ASEAN member states adopted a draft “ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement” (APSA) in 2008. The APSA aimed to allow “oil-importing members to purchase oil from oil-exporting members at ‘friendly prices’ during emergencies and periods of oil shortages.” [5] 

It also proposed coordinated emergency response measures, under which member states would “endeavor” to provide struggling countries with oil equivalent to 10% of their normal domestic demand on a voluntary and commercial basis. [6]

Despite these early drafts, ASEAN member states have only accelerated efforts to finalize the agreement when energy security directly threatened their development goals.

Currently, the bloc is seeking “to establish an intra-ASEAN fuel-sharing mechanism capable of responding promptly when a member faces severe shortages.” [7] 

The period from 2008 to 2026 remains an exceptionally long time to build an institutional framework for a common emergency response mechanism.

Is a Shared Fuel Reserve Enough?

Historically, ASEAN has faced criticism for being an ineffective “talk shop,” where leaders gather annually in traditional attire for symbolic handshakes that project unity despite deep divisions. [8] 

These limitations stem from an outdated operational structure. Because ASEAN lacks a centralized oil reserve with binding distribution authority, its crisis-response mechanisms rely on voluntarism, flexibility, and the avoidance of excessive obligations. 

As a result, the bloc’s crisis response capacity remains dangerously dependent on political goodwill, logistical capabilities, and the preparedness of individual member states.

In this context, the proposal for a shared fuel reserve represents a significant change. It demonstrates that ASEAN is becoming more conscious of crises and the survival risks facing its members, acknowledging that isolated responses are no longer sufficient. 

Marcos described the mechanism as a regional “pool” of various fuels that members could share during emergencies. [9]

However, this reserve will only be effective if ASEAN can swiftly resolve major technical questions. The bloc must determine how member contributions will be calculated, where reserves will be located, and which countries will receive priority during simultaneous shortages.

Furthermore, it remains unclear whether private companies will participate or if governments will actually share reserves while facing domestic political pressure from rising fuel prices.

ASEAN cannot treat fuel stockpiles as a standalone, long-term solution. While oil reserves are an important tool for mitigating disruptions, Southeast Asia’s current mechanisms may not withstand prolonged crises. 

Hence, ASEAN must deepen international cooperation to pursue oil-sharing arrangements with Asian partners such as China, South Korea, and Japan, while combining emergency reserves with supply diversification and aggressive energy transition strategies.

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ASEAN now has the opportunity to transform “practical cooperation” into a true driving force for regional cohesion. By doing so, it can demonstrate that the organization is more than just a forum that “talks more than it acts” and suffers from “a lack of effective leadership,” as some scholars have argued. [10]

The success of this initiative depends on ASEAN’s ability to establish a mechanism that is sufficiently transparent, fast, and credible for member states to use during emergencies. If it fails, the bloc risks remaining trapped in its historical cycle of ambitious declarations followed by sluggish implementation.

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Hải Âu wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on May 14, 2026. Đàm Vĩnh Hằng translated it into English for The Vietnamese Magazine.