Energy market cooperation in ASEAN

The majority of ASEAN member countries are currently struggling to implement policies in order to ensure a constant and reliable energy supply to all their citizens irrespective of urban or rural location. The ASEAN Charter and establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) both represent an ambitious goal of building a strong, cohesive and prosperous community to promote prosperity and create an economic powerhouse which could be challenged by the absent of effective energy policies that unite the capabilities of ASEAN and secure a prosperous future of the community. In this respect, the researcher would like to investigate the current situation of the energy market in ASEAN and their individual requirements, current demand and supply scenarios as well as the need and future prospect for regional cooperation. He will focus on the possibility of integrated ASEAN energy market, alternative energy sourcing and the importance of subsidies as a market controlling factor with the ability to distort the market situation. Up to date ASEAN political leadership has made little effort to seriously consider energy shortages as a threatening factor to prosperity and stability despite the warning words of think tanks and institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) where structural issues and the opportunity to unite forces within ASEAN have been outlined in various working papers. As a regional organization it is ASEAN’s responsibility and prerogative to address the issue in a cohesive manner to facilitate all the advantages that the community offers, especially in consideration of the wide variety of energy resources in the realm of ASEAN member countries. In this regards the study will use the example of the core motivations that lead states to cooperate with each other in consideration of national interest and national security factors. Additionally, this research will discuss the obstacles ASEAN presently faces and which might prove to be a hindrance for an ASEAN Energy Market Integration (AEMI) in the near future.