Pacific States Seeking Way Out

Pacific Rim nations suffer the lack of energy supply.
Philippines? top officials said Thursday that the country must find ways to ensure long-term stability and avoid any disruptions from terror attacks and other threats.
Philippine Energy Secretary Vincent Perez has suggested some ways of getting out of this problem at a meeting of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies.
These are: more oil stockpiles, better emergency planning, conservation, better regional cooperation and alternate energy sources.
However, Perez said no specific proposals have been made yet to solve the problem. Oil traders have in the past come under fire from consumers when prices rise, and from producers when prices fall.
APEC economies, including the United States and countries on both sides of the Pacific Ocean, will need to spend US$3.4 trillion to US$4.4 trillion on new energy infrastructure, the summary said.
Oil supplies also must be secured against natural disasters, piracy in shipping lanes and system failures, according to a statement released by the APEC ministers. Pipelines, ports, transmission hubs and other energy facilities also could be at risk.