Noël, Pierre

Abstract
The Asia-Pacific accounts for a large and growing share of the world’s energy-demand growth. With imports rising faster than consumption, the region is rapidly becoming the new centre of gravity for global energy markets. Such dynamics have made energy security a key policy concern for Asian states. The naval capacities of these countries are also growing swiftly, prompting some analysts to ask whether an arms race has begun. Although no one would suggest that this build-up of naval power is primarily driven by the need to secure energy supplies, the Chinese and Indian governments have identified energy and resource security as one rationale for developing naval power, particularly blue-water capabilities.
Large-scale reliance on imported energy is not a source of energy insecurity in itself. For most countries, most of the time, imports are a reliable solution to the economic challenge of fuelling growth. Specifically, access to seaborne energy markets appears to significantly increase an economy’s ability to cope with energy-supply crises. Moreover, there is no evidence that any country needs military or diplomatic capabilities to secure all the energy it can pay for. Because hydrocarbons are traded globally, competition for energy resources is dealt with by the price system. The boom in energy consumption from emerging economies, in a context of slow supply growth, has not triggered any wars, but rather has led to a large increase in the equilibrium price of oil.
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