The Philippines has offered the use of its Subic Bay Terminal Freeport for ASEAN to set up a regional fuel stockpile in efforts to secure energy resources for the region, said a news release issued following the ASEAN+South Korea Summit held Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur.

President Gloria Arroyo said at the summit meeting that "ASEAN should be able to work more effectively to secure energy resources for our region."

ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

"We must activate a regional stockpile for fuel," she said.

Arroyo said Korean business was already investing heavily in electrical power plants in the Philippines and contributing "to the electrification of our countryside."

The Philippine President also told the leaders' gathering that ASEAN and South Korea could invest collectively in ethanol plants in Southeast Asia's sugar-producing regions.

They could also undertake ventures in producing diesel oil from coconuts, which both Indonesia and the Philippines plant in large quantities, wind farms as well as rural solar energy projects, she said.

On Monday, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi expressed ASEAN countries' concern over the prolonged rise in oil prices which will have a negative impact on the regional economic growth.

The 10-member grouping, Badawi said, will further enhance ASEAN cooperation in the energy sector and between ASEAN and other countries to promote energy efficiency and to explore and develop alternative energy sources to ensure energy security and sustainable economic growth.

Source: Xinhua