Desks

Energy

Oil, gas, coal, renewables, power shortages, and climate diplomacy involving China, as foreign outlets file them.

• Laos wind farm, built by Chinese firms, powers Vietnam as Southeast Asia's renewable map redraws

  Chinese-built wind turbines rising from Laotian ridgelines are helping power Vietnam's fast-growing economy, The Straits Times reported, in a cross-border renewables arrangement that puts Laos at the centre of Southeast Asia's shifting power map.

• Quad ministers target export curbs as energy and mineral supply lines tighten

  Quad foreign ministers meeting in Atlanta pledged to build reliable supply chains and warned against arbitrary export restrictions, as Japan's foreign minister pointed to non-market overproduction that he said was making supply chains fragile.

• Pacific deep-sea mining becomes the next US-China front, SBS reports

  Pacific island nations could be drawn into a trade stand-off between the United States and China as deep-sea mining expands, SBS reported, framing the seabed as the next contested frontier in the rivalry over critical minerals.