East Asia
Region spanning China, Japan, the Koreas, Taiwan and Mongolia; heavily dependent on Gulf energy imports.
East Asia's oil importers face a fee regime at Hormuz: Iran and Oman signed a document on 23 June creating a standing committee to set charges on the strait, after Japanese and South Korean tankers spent weeks stranded while Chinese ships passed.
Last refreshed: 3 October 2026
East Asia imports more Gulf oil than any other region; why does it have no say in the crisis?
Timeline for East Asia
Mentioned in: UN Tourism cuts 2026 arrivals forecast
Nomads & CommunitiesMentioned in: Iran and Oman claim the strait
Iran Conflict 2026Mentioned in: Brent flat at $101.29; Hormuz floor holds
Iran Conflict 2026Mentioned in: CSIS calls for operational US-ROK cyber alliance
Cybersecurity: Threats and DefencesMentioned in: China splits on Hengli before Trump-Xi
Iran Conflict 2026Background
East Asia is a politically diverse macro-region spanning China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Mongolia. Its importers account for more than half of global Liquefied Natural Gas demand and a large share of crude imports, most of it shipped through the strait of Hormuz. The region has no unified security architecture: Japan and South Korea depend on separate treaty alliances with the United States, while China pursues its own ties with Iran and The Gulf states.
The 2026 Iran war showed that exposure. South Korea's KOSPI fell 12% on 4 March, its worst session on record, and Japan's Nikkei dropped 3.9% as markets priced in a supply shock. The same day the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena sank near Sri Lanka, on the tanker route to East Asian ports.
China's own position split along institutional lines. On 7 May its banking regulator ordered state banks to halt new yuan loans to Hengli Petrochemical and four other US-designated refineries, while its commerce ministry ordered the same firms to ignore US sanctions.
Hormuz charges become a standing cost
Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signed a joint governance document in Muscat on 23 June creating a standing committee with power to set fees on the strait of Hormuz. The Sultan's own signature made it a head-of-state commitment.
For East Asia, the region that buys most of the crude passing the strait, a standing fee body turns a wartime toll into a permanent line in import costs. By 22 March war-risk pricing had already pushed tanker charters to $800,000 a day, with Iran's toll of up to $2m a ship the cheaper option for owners.
East Asia's importers split at Hormuz
The UN Security Council voted 11 to 2 on 10 April for a resolution calling for Hormuz to reopen, and Russia and China vetoed it. By then Beijing's tankers had been passing on payment of Iran's tolls, while Japan's and South Korea's stayed stranded, so the veto preserved a commercial edge for Beijing inside the region.
The split dated from the first week of the war. Fortune reported on 8 March that ships claiming Chinese ownership were passing while others were seized. East Asia's three largest importers have no common security arrangement to answer that with: Japan and South Korea rely on separate US alliances, and China negotiates with Tehran alone.
Chinese visitors desert Japanese destinations
Regional travel slowed through 2026. UN Tourism figures released on 15 September showed growth in Asia-Pacific arrivals slowing to 1% for January to June, after 3% in the opening quarter.
Within East Asia the flows shifted rather than shrank evenly. Japan lost 59.0% of its Chinese visitors in August while Korean arrivals rose 28.7%, leaving Japan 2.7% behind 2025 for the year to date. South Korea's own arrivals grew 21% in the first half. The figures show tourist spending moving between the region's economies rather than leaving it, with Japanese destinations trading Chinese demand for Korean.
What is China's position on the Hormuz crisis?
How much have tanker rates risen due to the Iran war?
How does East Asia's energy dependence compare to Europe's?
How did East Asian stock markets react to the Iran war?
What is East Asia's role in the Iran conflict?
