CANBERRA, Australia: A global oil supply squeeze is inflicting an &quot;enormous impact&quot; on the Asia-Pacific region, Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Monday. Speaking in Canberra after talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, she said the two countries would respond urgently to secure stable energy supplies. Roughly one-fifth of the world&#39;s oil normally flows through the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been throttled. Eighty percent of that oil is destined for Asia, according to the International Energy Agency. &quot;The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has been inflicting enormous impact on the Indo-Pacific,&quot; the Japanese leader told journalists. &quot;We affirmed that Japan and Australia will closely communicate with each other in responding with a sense of urgency.&quot; The two countries aim to strengthen autonomy and resilience to secure stable supplies of energy, Takaichi said. Australia is the biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas to Japan, which in turn is a source for about seven percent of Australia&#39;s diesel.&nbsp;&#39;Global shocks&#39;&nbsp;The two countries issued a string of statements vowing to work together on energy, the economy, defense, and critical minerals. &quot;These agreements are to the benefit of both of our people,&quot; Albanese said. &quot;For Australians, it will mean we are less vulnerable to global shocks like we are seeing right now because of conflict in the Middle East.&quot; Japan&#39;s government has said it is also keen to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals, essential for semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries and weapons systems. Australia has touted its abundant critical minerals as a way to loosen China&#39;s grip over global supplies of rare earths. Australia and Japan have strengthened their defense ties, too, striking a Aus$10 billion (US$6 billion) deal last year for Japan to provide Mogami-class stealth warships to the Australian navy.

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Roughly one-fifth of the world's oil normally flows through the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been throttled; 80% of that oil is destined for Asia, according to the International Energy Agency.

Japan PM says oil crisis has 'enormous impact' in Asia-Pacific

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Middle East

Drone strike hits US site in Baghdad, missiles launched from Yemen and Iran, while European and UK-led talks urge de-escalation and reopening of Hormuz, as conflict spreads across multiple fronts and threatens global stability.

Day 34: All you need to know about the US-Israel war on Iran 

Reuters

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a rare earths and critical minerals agreement on Monday aimed at ensuring a steady supply of the materials. As they met at the White House for their first summit, Trump said the deal had been negotiated over four or five months. Albanese described it as an $8.5 billion pipeline &quot;that we have ready to go.&quot;&nbsp;The full terms of the agreement were not immediately available. The two leaders said part of the agreement had to do with processing of the minerals. Albanese said both countries will contribute $1 billion over the next six months for joint projects.&nbsp;The United States has been looking for access to rare earths and critical minerals around the world as China tightens control over global supply.&nbsp;China has the world&#39;s largest rare earths reserves, according to US Geological Survey data, but Australia also has significant reserves.&nbsp;The two leaders also planned to discuss the A$368 billion AUKUS agreement, reached in 2023 under then-President Joe Biden, in which Australia is to buy US nuclear-powered submarines in 2032 before building a new submarine class with Britain.&nbsp;Navy Secretary John Phelan told the meeting the United States and Australia were working very closely to improve the original AUKUS framework for all three parties &quot;and clarify some of the ambiguity that was in the prior agreement.&quot;&nbsp;&#39;COOPERATIVE, PROFESSIONAL, HOPEFULLY WARM&#39; RELATIONSHIP&nbsp;Ahead of Monday&#39;s meeting between the two leaders, Australian officials have emphasized Canberra is paying its way under AUKUS, contributing $2 billion this year to boost production rates at US submarine shipyards, and preparing to maintain US Virginia-class submarines at its Indian Ocean naval base from 2027.&nbsp;The delay of 10 months in an official meeting since Trump took office has caused some anxiety in Australia as the Pentagon urged Canberra to lift defense spending. The two leaders met briefly on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month.&nbsp;Australia is willing to sell shares in its planned strategic reserve of critical minerals to allies including Britain, Reuters reported last month, as Western governments scramble to end their reliance on China for rare earths and minor metals.&nbsp;Top US officials last week condemned Beijing&#39;s expansion of rare earth export controls as a threat to global supply chains. China is the world&#39;s biggest producer of the materials that are vital materials for products ranging from electric vehicles to aircraft engines and military radars.&nbsp;Resource-rich Australia, wanting to extract and process rare earths, put preferential access to its strategic reserve on the table in US trade negotiations in April.

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Trump and Australian PM Albanese signed a rare earth and critical minerals deal to secure supply, contributing $1 billion each, while discussing AUKUS submarine projects and strengthening US-Australia strategic ties.


Articles tagged with "Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese"

Japan PM says oil crisis has 'enormous impact' in Asia-Pacific

Day 34: All you need to know about the US-Israel war on Iran

Trump, Australia sign critical minerals agreement, discuss submarine deal