People fail to reach hospitals as Hormuz blockade impacts Pacific islands
Oceania’s small island nations are among the hardest hit by the fuel crisis. As the world's most diesel-dependent region, domestic transportation, food supplies, and access to healthcare are already under pressure, with Tuvalu declaring a state of emergency. China is watching, while New Zealand is asking the United States for help.
Funafuti (AsiaNews) – In the Asia-Pacific region, everyone is watching the United Arab Emirates quit OPEC, wondering whether this move will offer relief to a region of the world that imports most of its oil. Still, if this is the case, the benefits of increased fuel availability will not be immediate.
In Asia different strategies are being adopted to cope with the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz; however, the small, resource-poor island nations of the Pacific Ocean are looking at the possibility of a total halt to local transport due to rising fuel prices.
Typically, some 40 to 50 container ships reach the islands to deliver supplies and consumer goods. Given the archipelagic nature of these countries, boats, hydrofoils, seaplanes, or other small aircraft are needed to travel within each.
In Papua New Guinea, for example, where the cost of gasoline jumped by 70 per cent (while in the rest of the region increases have been between 30 and 40 per cent), food and medicine supplies are not reaching remote areas.
Several people have reportedly cancelled hospital appointments due to the high costs.
In some of these countries, poverty affects 40 per cent of the population, forcing families to forgo various consumer goods to be able to buy food, humanitarian organisations report.
Fishermen have been forced to raise prices because of rising fuel costs while a drop in tourism could further aggravate already fragile local economies.
Local power production is highly dependent on fossil fuels, about 80 per cent, making the Pacific island nations the most dependent on diesel supplies in the world.
In Tuvalu, which has a population of 11,000 spread across nine islands, fuel imports account for 27 per cent of GDP, while in other countries the percentage fluctuates between 8 and 11 per cent. Tuvalu’s capital, Funafuti, normally supplies the other eight atolls.
“We’re quite worried that countries like Tuvalu and other small island nations may not be a priority for some of these bigger countries, so we need to prepare now and have storage in place before that time arrives,” said Tuvalu Energy Minister Simon Kofe after the government declared a state of emergency.
The Solomon Islands also announced that it has sufficient fuel supplies for 40-50 days, while the Marshall Islands has imposed reduced office hours.
Last year, the region imported some 2.2 million tonnes of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, primarily from Singapore and South Korea. However, in April, imports fell by three quarters compared to March.
In recent days, the government of Tuvalu added that it could not guarantee supplies "beyond June”.
China, long committed to increasing its influence in the region, said it was ready to safeguard energy security, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.
The region's archipelagos have so far avoided tying themselves to a single power, seeking to balance relations by collaborating with Australia and New Zealand, which recently relayed the situation in the Pacific with the White House.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters used a recent trip to Washington to express concern about Pacific fuel reserves and explore the possibility of US support.
Tuvalu, along with Palau and the Marshall Islands, is also one of the few Pacific nations that continues to recognise Taiwan as an independent state, from which it primarily imports solar panels.
The Pacific islands are also the most affected by the effects of climate change, particularly rising sea levels, which directly threaten their survival.
The ongoing energy crisis represents a double insult for Pacific nations, forcing them to remain dependent on fossil fuels, diverting economic resources that could be invested in climate adaptation and resilience.
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29/03/2022 15:54
