True.
But I think China is getting tired of Iran’s constant trouble-making over Israel.
They’d profit much more from a friendly Israel
Which Iran makes impossible.
In sum, the ME is a terrible place to succeed in.
“In sum, the ME is a terrible place to succeed in.”
The United States has, since WWII, guaranteed equal and free access to the seas by all powers. Even North Korea can sail its ships unescorted to any port that will accept them. China and the developing world have benefitted from this security.
The US, which maintains a fleet larger than all the navies of the world combined, is backing away from this profitless role. This means that the far east must quickly develop navies and security arrangements. They will need to go to the ME, select sides in a century’s old blood feud, and escort their oil home. At the same time, those same countries, or, at least China, is challenging the freedom of the seas for other countries.
If the ME oil is interrupted for more than a few weeks, then the developing world will begin to fall into chaos and starvation. This is probably the only reason Trump hasn’t told them all to p*ss off and walked away. There are no good guys in the ME; only varying flavors of evil-doers.