We're taking you live now to Singapore, where the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is with the Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Let's go there now.
Let me extend a very warm welcome to Prime Minister Albanese and your delegation to Singapore. It's very good to see you again, my friend. I would have preferred, of course, for us to meet under more favorable circumstances. Unfortunately, these are difficult times, not just for Australia and Singapore, but for countries everywhere. The conflict in the Middle East is disrupting global supply chains and energy markets. The effects are rippling across the global economy. As open and trade-dependent nations, Singapore and Australia feel these pressures directly. That is why in times like these, we must work closely, move faster, and stand together. Not just to manage the risk, but to protect the well-being of our people. And that's exactly what Prime Minister Albanese and I have been doing. Two weeks ago, we spoke and issued a joint statement to strengthen our energy security. Today, we took that further with concrete steps to reinforce our resilience and to keep supply lines open. First, we agreed on a simple but critical principle. We will keep trade flowing between our two countries. Essential goods will continue to move between Australia and Singapore. That includes liquefied natural gas, or LNG, which Australia supplies to Singapore, as well as refined petroleum products like diesel, which Singapore supplies to Australia. And I appreciate Prime Minister Albanese's assurance that Australia will continue supplying LNG to Singapore, because this is vital for us. Natural gas is our main source for power generation. Likewise, I have assured Prime Minister Albanese that Singapore will continue supplying refined fuels to Australia. As a global refining hub, we will keep these flows going as long as upstream supplies continue. Second, we are moving quickly to translate these commitments into action. We are working towards a legally binding protocol on economic resilience and essential supplies, covering energy and other critical sectors. This is not just about managing today's crisis. It's about building trusted supply lines for a more uncertain future. Our officials have already had extensive discussions on the protocol, and we've agreed to accelerate the negotiations, and we aim to conclude the agreement soon. Third, we will step up coordination. Our teams will stay in close contact to manage and respond quickly to any external disruptions that may affect us or impact our supply chains. We will convene our first energy ministerial dialogue soon, and establish an economic resilience dialogue. And these platforms will enable us to deepen cooperation as the situation evolves and preserve the flow of essential supplies between our two countries. To conclude, these are uncertain and unprecedented times, but it is precisely in such times that partnership matter most. Singapore and Australia have tackled challenges together before. During the COVID pandemic, we worked closely to keep critical supply chains open. Our partnership is built on trust, and that trust is enabling us to act decisively today. In a more fractured and volatile world, we choose to stay open, to stay connected, and to stand together. Through the strength of our partnership, I'm confident that Australia and Singapore will not just get through the crisis, but we will emerge stronger and more resilient. So, once again, Prime Minister Albanese, thank you for your friendship, thank you for your partnership, and for the excellent discussions we've had today. Thank you. Thank you, Prime Minister. May I now invite Prime Minister Albanese to deliver his remarks, please.
Well, it's great to be alongside my friend, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, and to be back here in Singapore. Australia and Singapore have such a strong relationship. It's based on deep trust built over 60 years of diplomatic relations between our two great nations. Singapore is Australia's largest two-way trade partner in Southeast Asia. And my government, upon coming to office, had developed the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, closely and clearly saying to all of our partners here in Southeast Asia that we were prioritizing the relationships in our own region. Singapore is one of our closest strategic and economic partners, and my government has invested a great deal in this relationship. This is my third official visit to Singapore as Prime Minister, and it's the fifth time that Prime Minister Wong and I have met bilaterally. The last time we met was in Canberra last year, when we formally upgraded our comprehensive strategic partnership. We are in a time of global uncertainty. And at a time like this, trust, friendship, and cooperation with our neighbors matters more than ever before. This is a relationship, importantly, that helps deliver energy security for both of our nations. Around 25% of Australia's fuel comes from Singapore's refineries, and we visited them this morning. And Australia supplies around 32% of Singapore's LNG, that's so important. And we witnessed, literally, the ship there at Jurong Island this morning. So, it's vitally important that we coordinate our response to the global fuel crisis and cooperate so that both our of our economies are more resilient. This is a win-win. That is why Prime Minister Wong and I have just signed the joint statement that will protect our mutual energy security and the support the flow of fuels and LNG between our two countries. The conflict in the Middle East is a long way from our region, but every nation in our region is being affected by it. By building regional cooperation on energy security and economic resilience, we strengthen our own fuel security and our own economy. Our friendships in the region help our farmers back home. And the best way to deal with this global crisis is, indeed, to work together as partners and as neighbors. And I look forward to continuing to engage with the Prime Minister. We had a very wide-ranging discussion today, and that's what friends can do. Because you come to the relationship with that position of trust and mutual interest, and we also talked about how Australia and Singapore could work with other nations as well, like-minded countries, to expand what we are achieving here today. I thank you.
Thank you, Prime Minister. So, we'll now take questions from members of the media. May I request for journalists to stand, introduce yourselves, and before asking the questions. First up, may I introduce CNA TV from Singapore.
Hi, Prime Minister. Sabrina from Channel News Asia here. We wanted to ask, you know, with the rising competition for energy supplies globally, are you already seeing signs of countries competing or outbidding each other? And how can Singapore and Australia avoid being squeezed in that environment? Thank you.
The global energy market is what it is now facing a significant disruption. And when markets are tight, when demand exceeds supply, naturally, there will be pressure on prices. That's what we are seeing today. There's not very much individual countries can do to influence the global energy market. But what Australia and Singapore have decided to do now is to work together. Is to provide mutual support. And to find ways in which we can strengthen our cooperation, keep essential supplies flowing, and by doing so, we we believe we will further strengthen our energy security and resilience. I think Singapore is in a particularly strong position because of what we witnessed first hand this morning at Jurong Island with the significant players in the oil industry all having a presence there. And that means that some of the supplies that have been disrupted have been replaced by supplies from West Africa, from the Americas. And the relationship between that and then Australia being able to have greater access to supplies because of the relationship between our two countries strengthens our position. Just as our position as a reliable supplier of LNG gives Singapore confidence as well to be able to engage in the way that it does as such an important part of not just its own economy, but the region's economy as well. So these are challenging times. And we need to recognize that. We need to respond to that in an orderly cohesive way that seeks to not just develop solutions to the immediate challenges in terms of supply, but also one of the things we've talked about today and was foreshadowed by the Prime Minister is how do we emerge from this more resilient? Strengthening those relations in trade and cooperation going forward as well. And that is certainly our intention.
Thank you, Prime Ministers. Next from Australia, News Wire.
Good afternoon, Prime Ministers. Rhea Harris from News Wire. Prime Minister Albanese, when it comes to energy security, do you think countries should negotiate paid tolls to pass through the Strait of Hormuz? And Prime Minister Wong, your government has already ruled out these associations. Will you then look to rely more heavily on alternative suppliers, including Russia?
We think the Strait of Hormuz should be opened. And that is our very clear position and one we will continue to put, one we've advocated for.
Our position on the Strait of Hormuz is clear. It's consistent. We stated that this is international law. And it's important to us that countries uphold international law, including the right of transit passage through international waterway like the Strait of Hormuz. May I now invite the next... Because you were asking me then what do we do in terms of energy supplies? As far as energy supplies are concerned, we believe it's a global energy market. Our companies source feedstock from all over the world subject to prevailing laws and whatever sanctions regimes or arrangements are in place, we expect companies to uphold these international agreements and obligations. But subject to that, oil is fungible. As long as more oil enters the global energy market, it is good for the world. And our companies based here in Singapore are deeply connected to the different flows of energy supplies around the world. That's something we've built up over a considerable amount of time as an energy hub, as a refining hub, as an oil trading hub. And so because of that position, because of that strategic position, companies here are able to access flows of oil from different parts of the world and that ensures that we continue to have feedstock going into our refineries and our refineries in turn are able to provide supplies to all their different export markets.
May I now invite CNA Digital?
Good afternoon, Prime Ministers. The first question I have is for Prime Minister Albanese. Is Australia prepared to increase LNG exports to Singapore or the region if supply shocks worsen? And then the next question is to both Prime Ministers. You've both talked about energy resilience in the longer term. Are there discussions on long-term LNG contracts, joint stockpiling, or shared strategic reserves between the two countries to manage future supply shocks? Thank you.
On the first question, Australia has been a very reliable supplier of LNG. And we will remain so. Contracts are fulfilled. We believe very critically that our reputation as a reliable supplier of energy, not just to Singapore, but to other nations in the region is a critical part of the way that Australia is perceived quite rightly. And what that has done is to lead to confidence as well for investment in extraction of those goods. One of the things that today's agreement speaks about is maximizing contributions. So one of the things we want to be positions we want to be in is that if Singapore requires through commercial prices, requires further LNG, there is over a period of time as well, there's additional fields are going to come online. And we will continue to provide support for Singapore, which is important for your economy, but also produces benefit for Australia.
Australia is a very important supplier of natural gas to Singapore. As you heard just now, around one-tenth of our LNG supply comes from Australia. Recently, we have centralized gas procurement for our country. Rather than rely on multiple commercial importers, we have centralized it under one entity, a single gas company. So that allows that single entity to look at managing our overall gas portfolio, diversify different sources, and also manage the risk in terms of the duration of contracts. So this gas company is doing just that right now, overseeing its entire portfolio of gas procurement, and looking at how we can best manage the risk. And certainly in the process of doing so, it will look to Australia to assess more gas on a commercial basis and hopefully more long-term gas as well.
