TOKYO/COLOMBO/WELLINGTON ¨C Indonesia¡¯s leader visited Tokyo this week in Asia¡¯s latest flurry of fuel bartering efforts to offset crippling shortages caused by conflict in the Middle East, a key source of regional energy supply.
The race for alternatives has hotted up as China, the world¡¯s second-largest economy, imposed fuel export bans, while nations such as South Korea and Thailand try to exploit the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Russian energy as a stopgap move.
Matters ?are getting desperate for poorer nations as the Philippines became the first to declare a national energy emergency, Sri Lanka cut its work week to four days, ?and Myanmar limited ?car drivers to alternate days.
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