There is another conflict being fought in the world over energy and resources, and it is not the clash of civilizations between the Western powers and the Cradle of Civilization, otherwise known as America and her allies versus the Middle East. Rather, this is a battle between people who have historically been at each other's throats for centuries over resources, whether through trade hegemony or conquering militarily in the name of empire. This is the battle in Asia over resources, all-inclusive of the region, whether it is the Far East of China and Japan, the oil-rich 'stans in Central Asia (especially Kazakhstan), or the widely available human labor resources in Southeast Asia, in what is more than likely to define the New Asian Century.
The idea of conflict in the Sun Tzu perspective implies that peace is simply the time between wars, as life is an every day struggle to survive. This perspective has blended well into the Machiavellian view of power struggle, in that morals are useful for when they need to be used, otherwise, good or bad, as long as it helps those in power achieve what they want, morals are utilized, otherwise they are constantly changing or completely disregarded. In the name of God and democracy, the United States fights for oil; but it's hard to deny that the God they believe in is a three-letter word appearing in a sentence on U.S. banknotes that reads "IN GOD WE TRUST."
Sadly a Eurocentric concept, as one will not find Asians in Asia, but will find Uzbeks, Mongolians, and Filipinos; Asia, being everything East of Europe is a diverse region which is unfortunately categorized by the mapmakers and moneyholders of the West as one group people who have superficial commonalities. Actually, they are diverse and have their own histories and language, mostly shaped by their conflict with one another, and though they may have political and economical ties today as a result of being forced together by their former colonial masters, it does not translate to them learning to love each other overnight. There is still a hunger for resources and mutual distrust amongst neighbors, but every state has something or wants something that another has, and globalization, the interdependence and codependence of countries with each other does not hold together very easily, meaning that more often than not armed conflict occurs.
The development of Kazakhstan is highly dependent on China's desire for oil as a resource, which Kazakhstan is rich in, and China is interested in. The problem is, countries are competing for access to curry Kazakhstan's favor to get access to that oil, whereas developing countries are opening up to Chinese investment and potential political hegemony, leading to at the very least diplomatic clashes. This is one example of "soft" conflict, in which everything is just short of threats of force or applied force militarily.
Then there is the looming threat of war constantly, in the case of North Korea, which lacks resources but has weapons of mass destruction, though it cannot threaten too often, lest it be denied access to energy as punishment for threatening the use of force. In a circular logic manner of speaking, it is also the threat of a North Korean invasion that encourages South Korea to share resources with the North.
The issue does not get any simpler, but the information resources are quite varied. One of the more reliable resources, but more for academics and researchers would be National Bureau of Asian Research, which has many in-depth research articles on the issues, but are not entirely user-friendly due to the nature of most information being found in pdf files, amidst brief descriptions of each article's content. Aside from this, the interface is simple to navigate, with a sidebar on the left taking users directly to what's described, and graphics are simple and not overbearing. The news tab also links to other significant sites affiliated or significant to their cause that come on a consistent schedule. Events and summits are also listed there, though not always open to the public, but definitely displaying the authority of the site. The only problem is trying to search for the site since all the important information is in the pdf files, so one does not easily find the site as one of the hits in google searches, meaning a lucky chance discovery (or using the best blog in Asia by Johnny listing it right here) is one of the few ways one can find the site. For the global gladiators, go to http://www.nbr.org/programs/energy/
The least-reliable, but updates more often is truthforce, however, they are mostly focused on the Philippines and how the crisis relates to the Philippines than anything else. Interface is semi-professional but works well, though there is a complete lack of images, sometimes as little as two images at a time on the page, including an advertisement and the site logo. Many of the articles are borrowed from other sites, and much of the content is generally well-written, but does not have good background information, just news reports which are merely descriptive, with little depth of analysis, though there are some scattered opinions and in-depth reports. Not the best place to go to for information, but generally accessible, and is more for the well-versed and well-aware viewer who just wants news articles. This isn't "Energy Crisis for Dummies" though, so be warned when looking for information here.
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