ASEAN rejects regional oil stockpile proposal

Most members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have rejected a proposal from Japan and South Korea to create a common oil stockpile, Kompas daily reported Monday.

They argued that such a plan would be too costly to materialize.

?Large oil stockpile could become terrorist target, thus creating a new dimension of security threat in the region,? the paper quoted an ASEAN official as saying over the weekend.

The official said that Japanese and South Korean representatives had proposed the establishment of the common oil stockpile for the two countries and the 10-members of ASEAN in their meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two-day meeting ended June 10.

Meanwhile, ASEAN has yet to realize the so-called ASEAN Petroleum Security Agreement that was formed in 1987. The accord aims to pool together oil supplies.

The association?s members are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. (*)