After the Gulf Crisis: Rethinking ASEAN Energy Security through Regional Grid Governance

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The ongoing Gulf crisis is pushing ASEAN member states to rethink both energy security and the energy transition. While energy security in the ASEAN region has long been shaped by access to affordable oil and gas, dependence on major exporters, price volatility and critical maritime routes has made this model particularly vulnerable to geopolitical disruption. This exposure remains substantial across several ASEAN markets, with Middle Eastern supplies accounting for 95 per cent of the Philippines’ oil imports and 49 per cent of Vietnam’s gas imports before the crisis. Against this backdrop, energy diversification with a focus on cleaner electrification is moving closer to the centre of long-term resilience planning.

Regional grid integration is therefore becoming increasingly important to the region’s resilience agenda, but the broader shift towards electrification also redefines energy security risk. Electrification may reduce some exposure to oil and gas vulnerabilities, but it also creates new dependencies linked to technologies, critical materials and technical standards. As electricity demand grows across ASEAN, energy resilience will increasingly hinge on grid stability, secure supply chains, cross-border governance and cybersecurity.

ASEAN’s crisis response reflects this shift, with electricity playing a growing role alongside traditional fuel security. While immediate measures focused on petroleum security, including faster ratification of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Petroleum Security (APSA) and stronger emergency response mechanisms, the wider regional resilience package looked beyond oil and gas towards energy diversification. ASEAN leaders also reaffirmed the need to diversify the energy system through renewables, biofuels, electric vehicles and cross-border power connectivity projects such as the ASEAN Power Grid (APG). This places cleaner electricity systems more firmly within energy security planning alongside climate policy.

Satellite Image of the Strait of Hormuz | Source: Wikipedia