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Economic Growth Of The Indo Pacific Region

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Introduction

Economic growth in the Indo-Pacific region is considered high. Many countries in the region sustain its economic growth from 3-7% for the last decade. The growth is spurred by three giants Asian countries namely, China, Japan and India. Along with the economic growth, energy consumption has increased as well. In 2011 China’s oil consumption was 9,790,000 bbl/day, Japan 4,464,000 bbl/day and India 3,292,000 bbl/day. China, Japan and India were ranked two, three and four respectively just under United States’ oil consumption.
Seizing over energy has colored the international political relationships in the region. Six countries namely, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam and the Republic of China/Taiwan have been involved in Spratly and Paracel islands dispute for decades while Indonesia and Malaysia over Ambalat block.
In 2030, it is predicted that energy production will decline sharply while consumption will be increased. The gap between energy production and consumption could be the source of conflict. Furthermore, in this anarchy international system and Self-help, war/conflict becomes one of the plausible choices. This essay will discuss the security threat posed in the Indo-Pacific region caused by the struggle for energy and its transportation.

Transportation of Energy
Countries in the Middle East and Africa are the main source of East Asian countries’ crude oil supplier, For example, by 2011,

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