28/03/2026

SATURDAY | MAR 28, 2026

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Vietnam waives green tax on fuel

HANOI: Vietnam temporarily waived an environmental tax on fuel to cut soaring petrol prices by more than a quarter yesterday, its Trade Ministry said, as the Middle East war disrupts global energy supplies. The environmental protection tax rate on gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel would be slashed to zero until April 15, according to a ministry statement. “This is considered an urgent and effective solution to stabilise the petroleum market and ensure national energy security amidst the escalating conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, which is creating the ‘biggest energy bottleneck ever’,“ the ministry said in the statement. Figures posted by the ministry showed the move would bring petrol prices down by about 26% and reduce diesel prices by just over 15% after the cost of fuel skyrocketed earlier this week. The government also lowered the price of 95-octane petrol to 24,332 dong (US$0.92) per litre yesterday, down from 32,957 dong, while diesel prices decreased to 35,440 dong per litre. Vietnam had adjusted its fuel prices twice on Wednesday, bringing down costs after the price of diesel more than doubled since the start of the Middle East war last month. – AFP TOKYO: Japan’s government plans to temporarily lift restrictions on coal-fired power plants as it seeks to ease an energy crunch caused by the Middle East war, an official said yesterday. Japanese media had earlier reported the industry ministry was set to announce the proposal, citing unnamed sources. “The reported fact is true” and the plan would be presented at an expert panel meeting later in the day, Takahide Soeda, an industry ministry official, told AFP. He said power suppliers have previously been required to keep the operating rate of coal-fired thermal power stations that emit large amounts of carbon dioxide at or below 50%. However, he added that the government now intends to allow full operation of older, less efficient coal-fired plants, for a year from the new fiscal year starting April. The initiative follows many Asian nations’ pivot towards coal to power their economies since the Middle East war that began last month prompted Iran to partially close the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Japan purchases 80% of its coal imports from Australia and Indonesia, according to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. – AFP India slashes duties on petrol, diesel Japan to boost coal-fired power NEW DELHI: India slashed its special excise duties on petrol and diesel, as fuel prices stay volatile, with supplies choked by the Iran war. In a government order on Thursday, India’s Finance Ministry reduced the special excise duty on petrol to 3 rupees (US$0.0318) per litre from 13 rupees earlier. It also cut the duty on diesel to zero from 10 rupees. The US-Israeli war with Iran has led to a near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as a conduit for 40% of crude oil imports, hurting shipping and gas supplies. The ministry did not say how much the duty cuts would cost the government. Madhavi Arora, an economist at financial services firm Emkay Global, estimated the annualised fiscal hit to be nearly 1.55 trillion rupees. She added that the duty cuts would absorb about 30% to 40% of annual losses of oil marketing companies on fuel at current prices. India has been hit hard by volatility in crude prices and disruption in oil and gas supplies, but unlike China it has not moved to ban exports of refined fuels. – Reuters

‘Asean summit to focus on Middle East conflict’ BOLTING BOVINES ... A jockey competes in Pacu Jawi, a traditional Minangkabau bull race held in harvested paddy fields, in the Tanah Datar regency, West Sumatra province, Indonesia. – REUTERS P I C

o Upcoming meeting to centre on oil, food and migrants: Philippines president

MANILA: Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos yesterday said an Asean summit the Philippines will host in May would be a streamlined affair, with a focus on how best to handle the economic shocks of the Mideast war. He said the May 8 to May 9 meeting of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) would centre around the issues of oil, food and migration. He added that he had consulted with other Asean members about the idea of postponing the summit in the face of an energy crisis that has struck the region hard,

resulted in a collision near Pag-asa, a tiny island about 450km from the coast of Palawan. “While conducting lawful operations, BRP Benguet encountered the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessel, which executed an unsafe and unprofessional maneuver by closing in and passing at a dangerously close distance,“ the Philippines said in a statement. Video released by the Philippines showed the PLAN vessel sailing alongside the BRP Benguet, with fewer than 10 metres separating the two ships. “That’s unsafe. That’s provocative,“ Col Nep Padua told AFP yesterday. “They moved, cutting the ship in front of the bow. Normally, you do not do that, crossing at any angle.” The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment. – AFP created by the war. The import-dependent archipelago nation of 116 million has seen the price of fuel hit historic highs since the US-Israeli war with Iran forced the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The war has also affected millions of guest workers from Asean states who are living in countries caught in the crossfire. It was not clear if other pressing priorities, including the civil war raging in Myanmar or code of conduct between the bloc and China over the South China Sea, would be off the table for discussion. – AFP

before determining to press forward. “It is a bare bones Asean Summit. We will be talking about three main subjects: about the supply of petroleum and petroleum products; about the supply and the price of food; and migrant workers. “What we really need at this time is for leaders to talk about what to do, how we could help each other, and what is the Asean position regarding all of the shocks that are coming our way.“ Marcos declared on Tuesday a state of “national energy emergency”, citing risks to the Philippines’ domestic fuel supply

Philippines, France deepen military ties MANILA: The Philippines and France have signed an agreement opening the door for their soldiers to participate in joint exercises on each other’s soil, Manila said yesterday, its first such pact with a European country. “The SOVFA will serve as the primary document to facilitate a wider range of defence cooperative activities between the Philippine and French armed forces in the territory of either country,“ Manila’s Defence Department said in a statement.

The archipelago nation has secured similar pacts with Japan, Canada and New Zealand over the past two years, as it seeks to counter Beijing’s assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea. The Philippines and China have engaged in frequent clashes in the crucial waterway, which Beijing claims in nearly its entirety despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. The new“status of visiting forces agreement” (SOVFA) with France was signed on Thursday in Paris, hours after the Philippine military accused China of conducting “dangerous manoeuovres” in the contested waterway.

The French navy has previously taken part in joint drills in the South China Sea alongside Philippine and US vessels, while the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle made its first port visit to Subic Bay in February last year. The new agreement, which must still be ratified by the countries’ legislatures, would allow for greater cooperation with French ground forces, which have previously taken part as observers in the annual US-Philippine Balikatan military exercises. The Philippine military separately on Thursday accused China of conducting “dangerous manoeuvres” that could have