Singapore FM Balakrishnan: Iran war threatens to send Asian economies into crisis

Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told Reuters in an interview at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Singapore on Monday that the war against Iran threatens to send Asian economies into crisis. He described Asia as acutely exposed to the massive disruption of Middle East energy supplies caused by the conflict. Singapore is one of the world's largest LNG trading hubs and is heavily dependent on Gulf shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. The minister's warning adds Singapore to a growing list of major Asian governments raising the alarm about the war's economic consequences: India's EAM Jaishankar called US SecState Rubio to discuss energy security, China warned of a 'vicious cycle' and raised domestic fuel prices, South Korea's markets fell 6% and Japan's 5%, and Pakistan faces an LNG crisis within 10 days. The IEA chief called the energy disruption worse than the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks combined. Balakrishnan's Reuters interview signals that ASEAN governments are beginning to publicly pressure parties toward de-escalation.