00:02As the U.S. conflict with Iran ramps up, it could have greater implications for U.S. partners in
00:07the Indo-Pacific. That's causing concerns in Taipei. I would say definitely we were worried
00:11about the possibility that the U.S. military would redeploy from Asia to the Middle East too much.
00:19But right now, as far as the data shows, the U.S. deployment in the Western Pacific has not been
00:27significantly changed.
00:49South Korean media have reported that U.S. air defense assets stationed in the country
00:53could be redeployed to the Middle East as stockpiles run low. Neither Washington nor
00:57Seoul have confirmed such plans.
01:00In Southeast Asia, concerns are less about U.S. deployments and more about what a widening
01:04conflict could bring.
01:06The strongest has been from Malaysia, where they're talking about scaling back some of
01:12their cooperation with the U.S. The rest of Southeast Asia, even if they do have such concerns,
01:18they are likely not to articulate them because they really don't want to get untangled too
01:24much into the Trump administration's preferences and proclivities which they believe may create
01:32more complications for them than they would prefer.
01:35Iran has threatened to set on fire any ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, where
01:39about 20% of the world's oil passes through. For energy-importing nations in Southeast Asia,
01:44that's a major problem.
01:45Fossil fuels is a matter of concern because they will also raise global prices. And in
01:51that regard, it could crimp some of the economic growth in the region too.
01:57China, a close ally of Iran, is closely watching how the conflict develops.
02:01A New York Times report says that while Beijing prioritizes its ties with Washington, it could
02:05cancel or postpone a long-awaited meeting in Beijing between U.S. President Donald Trump
02:09and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The U.S. says this meeting is set for late March,
02:13but China has yet to confirm.
02:17Whatever happens next, it is certain to reverberate beyond Washington and Tehran and carry consequences
02:21for countries across the Indo-Pacific.
02:23Howard Chang and Larry Siano for Taiwan Plus.
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