The nation has sufficient energy reserves, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, dispelling concerns over energy disruption after China announced it would hold live-fire drills in waters surrounding Taiwan from today to Sunday.
The drills are in retaliation for US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. The planned exercises stoked fears that energy shipments could be delayed and put Taiwan’s energy supply at risk.
The ministry said in a statement that the government has accumulated energy reserves for local consumption through state-run companies.
Photo: CNA
All vital energy stocks exceed regulatory safety levels, it said.
As building up energy reserves is an issue of national security, the government has made numerous contingency plans against Chinese military exercises, the ministry said.
“The nation has rules to keep energy reserves at safe levels. Besides, we have multiple energy sources,” the ministry said. “We are well-prepared with sufficient energy reserves. The public should not be worried about supply disruptions.”
The nation has crude oil reserves equivalent to 146 days of consumption, while natural gas reserves are at a level equivalent to 10 to 11 days of local consumption, the ministry said.
The nation’s coal stockpiles are sufficient for 39 days, it said.
To keep the nation’s energy reserves in check, the ministry is monitoring energy stocks with Taiwan Power Co (台電) and CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) on a daily basis, the statement said.
In light of China’s planned drills, gas suppliers are rerouting or reducing the speed of some liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers en route to North Asia, people familiar with the matter said.
Shipments to Taiwan and Japan this weekend would be affected, the people said.
Shipping companies are also assessing their options and the actions threaten to disrupt one of the world’s busiest waterways.
Local branches of China’s maritime safety administration have issued multiple warnings for ships to avoid certain territories, citing the military exercises, while Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau warned ships to find alternative routes to access and depart from seven major ports in Taiwan during China’s drills, the Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday.
While the disruptions could exacerbate a shortage of LNG amid an energy crunch, delays of a few days are not uncommon. Shippers often face typhoons at this time of year that create similar disruptions.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
TECH CLUSTER: The US company’s new office is in the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday launched an office in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁), marking a significant milestone in the development of southern Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the Tainan City Government said in a statement. AMD Taiwan general manager Vincent Chern (陳民皓) presided over the opening ceremony for the company’s new office at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City (沙崙智慧綠能科學城), a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan. Facilities in the new office include an information processing center, and a research and development (R&D) center, the Tainan Economic Development Bureau said. The Ministry
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
The Taipei International Cycle Show (Taipei Cycle) yesterday opened at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, with the event’s organizer expecting a steady recovery in the industry this year following a tough last year. This year, 980 companies from 35 countries are participating in the annual bicycle trade show, showcasing technological breakthroughs and market development trends of the bicycle industry at 3,600 booths, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) said in a statement. Under the theme “Ride the Revolution,” the exhibition has attracted more than 3,500 international buyers from 80 countries to preregister for the four-day event, which is expected to