Wong to press Asian countries for fuel guarantees during regional tour

Penny Wong to press Asian countries for fuel guarantees during regional tourBy North Asia correspondent Natalie Whiting and foreign affairs correspondent Stephen DziedzicTopic:World Politics1h ago1 hours agoTue 28 Apr 2026 at 8:48amPenny Wong met Toshimitsu Motegi in Tokyo on Tuesday. (Supplied: Daniel Walding/Department of Foreign Affairs)In short:Fuel needs to be sent to Australia from major Asian suppliers if it is going to export energy and food supplies, Penny Wong says.The foreign minister met with her Japanese counterpart and other senior ministers in Tokyo on Tuesday.What's next?Senator Wong will visit South Korea and China as part of her regional trip. abc.net.au/news/penny-wong-visits-japan-to-discuss-australia-fuel-supply/106615724Link copiedShareShare articleForeign Minister Penny Wong says Australia needs to keep on receiving fuel from its major suppliers in Asia if it is going to continue sending them critical energy and food supplies, as the region continues to grapple with oil shortages.Senator Wong has met with her Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi, the Minister of Trade, Economy and Industry Ryosei Akazawa and the Minister of Economic Security Kimi Onoda in Tokyo on the first stop of a regional tour aimed, in part, at shoring up Australia's fuel security.The government has been intent on securing guarantees from its major fuel suppliers in South-East Asia and North Asia, as countries throughout the region face major oil shortages due to the Iran war, which has choked the Strait of Hormuz.Senator Wong told the ABC in Tokyo that she would carry the same message to Japan, China and South Korea on her regional tour, saying Australia could only fulfil its critical role as a major food, coal and liquified natural gas (LNG) exporter in Asia if it had fuel and fertiliser to keep its economy running."We are reliable suppliers. We want to continue to be reliable suppliers," Senator Wong told the ABC."And to do that, we need to have diesel, we need to have jet fuel, we need to have petrol, and we need to have fertiliser too."She denied that Australia was using its energy exports as a cudgel with major fuel exporters in the region, saying her argument was both an assertion of "partnership" and an "assertion of the reality"."We want to be a reliable supplier, and if we are to be a reliable supplier, we need others to be reliable," she said.Penny Wong met with Ryosei Akazawa in Japan to discuss fuel and energy security. (X: @SenatorWong)The visit comes as Japan and Australia confirm that Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will visit Canberra next Monday for talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.Japan raises gas tax concernThe federal government has also been mulling an additional tax on gas exporters, but Japan has warned that could undermine investment and business ties at a fragile moment in the global economy.The ABC revealed last week that Mr Albanese has killed off the proposal, in part because the government does not want to anger key trading partners who it relies on for fuel.Senator Wong effectively confirmed that Japan had pressed its concerns with her during her visit to Tokyo, although she would not go into detail."I don't go into every discussion, but of course, you'd understand that reliability and predictability are something they seek," she said.But she would not be drawn on the government's final decision on the gas tax, saying it was a "discussion in Australia which I'll leave for the moment".Penny…

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