Taiwan is being urged to prepare now for an energy shock as Middle East shipping routes get more dangerous, a warning aimed at protecting people from a jump in prices later.

• Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is getting riskier, and Iran-backed Houthi forces have seized a strategic island near the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
• DPP lawmaker Chen Kuan-ting wants the economy ministry, CPC Corp and Taipower to map out what happens if both chokepoints are blocked at once.
• Taiwan imports almost all its energy, so higher oil and gas prices would quickly feed into shipping, air travel, plastics, factory costs and everyday prices.
• The suggested fix is to line up oil and gas from the US, Australia and other non-Middle East suppliers now, before everyone else is fighting for cargo, ships and war-risk insurance.
• A CSIS report says US stocks of key air-defense and precision missiles have fallen by more than half after months of fighting Iran, raising doubts about how much America can supply the Indo-Pacific.

Outlook: Expect Taiwan to push for stress tests, backup shipping routes and more locally made weapons while the conflict drags on.