A meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Japanese counterpart earlier this month touched on the topic of Japan’s potential contribution to the long-proposed plan to develop natural gas reserves in Alaska and ship the gas to Asia.
Trump and his energy representative, Doug Burgum, presented the proposal as a way for Japan to replace energy imports from the Middle East and balance its trade deficit with the US. According to two officials who were briefed on the private meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed optimism about the Alaska LNG project, but also raised concerns about its feasibility.
The Trump administration is currently seeking to restructure economic ties with East Asia, with a focus on regional allies investing in American fossil fuels, particularly liquefied natural gas (LNG). The US is emphasizing the concerns of Asian capitals regarding tariffs and the security of sea routes for their energy imports, according to a Reuters report.
Despite the high costs and logistical hurdles associated with the Alaska LNG project, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and other countries are in principle supportive of increasing their US LNG imports. This could strengthen the US economy and reduce the influence of China and Russia.
In a joint statement with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea on Saturday agreed to strengthen energy security through the “release” of America’s “affordable and reliable energy” including LNG. Alaska was not mentioned in the statement.
The idea of building an 800-mile pipeline to connect gas fields in Alaska’s North Slope with an export terminal on the Pacific coast has repeatedly stalled due to high costs and challenging terrain. The US emphasizes the geographic proximity of the gas project to Japan and the fact that it would avoid sensitive bottlenecks like the Strait of Hormuz and the Malacca Strait, as well as the South China Sea.
Besides Japan, Trump’s argument of energy security also seems to be resonating in other Asian countries, particularly in the face of potential tariffs. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a similar gas promise at a meeting with Trump earlier this month and Taiwan is also considering increasing its energy imports from the US, including LNG from Alaska.