Asia-Pacific Races to Evacuate Citizens from Middle East
China, Pakistan, India, and Australia were among the nations racing to extract citizens caught in the crossfire, as cascading airspace closures and deteriorating security conditions paralyzed regional travel.
China led evacuation efforts, airlifting more than 3,000 nationals out of Iran, while an Air India flight from the United Arab Emirates touched down in New Delhi carrying 149 passengers and eight crew — the first Indian carrier to land in the capital since widespread airspace shutdowns across the Middle East began.
The conflict ignited Saturday when a joint US-Israeli military offensive struck Iran, killing several senior officials including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Tehran responded with coordinated drone and missile strikes against US-linked targets across Gulf states, killing at least six American service members and wounding numerous others. Air and maritime corridors across the region — including the critical Strait of Hormuz — have been disrupted ever since.
The human toll in Asia is also mounting. At least six Asian nationals have been confirmed dead since hostilities intensified Saturday — one each from China, Pakistan, Nepal, and India, and two from Bangladesh. An Indian national perished aboard a vessel near Oman; five others were killed in the UAE.
Thousands Stranded Across the Region
Australia faces one of the largest exposure challenges, with some 115,000 of its citizens currently in the Middle East, according to media. Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed the government is in active talks with airlines to facilitate the return of stranded nationals, while acknowledging that repatriation efforts would remain constrained as long as regional airspace stays closed.
Pakistan, meanwhile, has extracted more than 650 of its citizens from Iran over the past 48 hours.
Markets in Freefall
Regional financial markets bore the full weight of investor anxiety. Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 3.06% at close as geopolitical risk premiums surged, while South Korean shares suffered a far sharper blow — collapsing more than 7% to close at 5,791.91 — as the won weakened significantly, according to media.
Seoul's National Intelligence Service activated a 24-hour emergency task force to track developments, assist nationals abroad, and monitor supply chain vulnerabilities across energy, logistics, defense manufacturing, and shipbuilding sectors in the wake of the Hormuz closure.
In Indonesia, Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi urged heightened vigilance among airlines operating to or through the Middle East, according to a news agency. Deputy Human Rights Minister Mugiyanto confirmed that more than 100 Indonesian nationals were stranded at Hamad International Airport in Doha, with dozens to hundreds more reported stuck across Dubai and other Gulf cities.
Energy Security Moves to the Forefront
For energy-dependent Asian economies, supply security has rapidly become the defining concern.
Pakistan is actively seeking alternative import routes to stabilize its domestic fuel market, though its oil reserves cover only approximately 28 days of consumption. Two crude cargoes remain stranded following the strait's closure, according to local media.
In Taiwan, state utility Taipower and energy firm CPC Corp. announced steps to diversify oil and gas import sources to cushion the impact of the conflict, media reported. The island currently draws energy supplies from more than 10 countries.
The conflict has simultaneously disrupted global production. QatarEnergy halted all liquefied natural gas (LNG) output after Iranian drone strikes damaged its facilities — a particularly severe blow given Qatar's role as a primary LNG supplier to multiple Asian economies.
With the Strait of Hormuz — the chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of all global oil trade flows — remaining closed, fears of prolonged energy price volatility and sustained market instability are deepening across the region.
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