Trump seeks to reshape Asia’s energy supplies with U.S. gas
The topic of discussion during President Donald Trump’s lunch with his Japanese counterpart this month swiftly shifted to how Tokyo could assist in implementing a long-standing plan to unlock gas in Alaska and transport it to Asian allies.
Trump and his tsar energy According to two officials briefed on the private discussions, Doug Burgum presented the project as a means for Japan to rectify its trade imbalance with the United States and replace energy shipments from the Middle East.
Despite Tokyo’s skepticism regarding the Alaska LNG project’s feasibility, Japanese Premier Shigeru Ishiba expressed optimism about it in an attempt to guarantee a successful first meeting and avoid damaging U.S. tariffs.
According to the officials, who were given anonymity because of the delicate nature of the discussions, Ishiba expressed his hope that Japan would be able to take part in the $44 billion project to Trump and Burgum.
In his post-lunch public remarks, Trump made repeated references to the project. Ishiba didn’t, and the official readout of the discussions made no mention of it.
By tying regional allies to Washington through greater investment in American fossil fuels, especially LNG, the Trump administration is reshaping economic ties with East Asia, according to Reuters interviews with over a dozen individuals, including current and former Asian and U.S. officials.
The goal of the U.S. sales pitch is to appeal to Asian capitals’ worries about tariffs and the safety of the sea lanes that transport their energy imports, Reuters found. Details of the behind-the-scenes exchanges and specifics of the U.S. approach have not been previously reported.
While the Alaska LNG proposal faces cost and logistical hurdles, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and others are buying into the idea of increasing U.S. gas imports more broadly, which could bolster the U.S. economy and blunt the influence of China and Russia.
Japan’s participation in Trump’s emerging strategy would be critical: It is the world’s No. 2 LNG buyer, a major investor in energy infrastructure, and a trading hub with a glut of LNG that could help open new markets for U.S. gas in Southeast Asia.
“If the Trump administration were to have its way, U.S. LNG would flow in massive quantities to Japan and South Korea and then would flow downstream…so that Southeast Asia would become economically dependent on the United States,” said Kenneth Weinstein, Japan chair at Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank. “It’s redrawing the map of energy dependence.