The day of reckoning is close at hand. Why do 50,000 freepers know what our leaders in government and industry do not? That's a question we ought to be asking ourselves. Maybe we really don't want to learn the answer.
March 12, 1997 - American citizens assemble at a hearing of the Long Beach Harbor Commission to voice their opposition to the Clinton Administration’s leasing of a port facility to COSCO (the company owned by Communist China).
[The Clinton Administration had closed down the U.S. Navy facility at Long Beach, California, earlier this decade as a result of defense cutbacks. Now they want to lease this facility to Red China! This is the same regime that had threatened to nuke Los Angeles. U.S. Customs officials would only be allowed to inspect one out of every eight containers the Chinese bring into this port. Already, COSCO has been implicated in an attempt to smuggle 2,000 AK-47 assault rifles through Oakland to arm criminal gangs.]
Strait of Malacca
Location: Malaysia/Singapore; connects the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
Oil Flows (2003E): 11 million bbl/d
Destination of Oil Exports: Japan, South Korea, China, other Pacific Rim countries.
Concerns/Background: The Strait of Malacca, linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans, is the shortest sea route between three of the world's most populous countries -- India, China, and Indonesia -- and therefore is considered to be the key choke point in Asia. The narrowest point of this shipping lane is the Phillips Channel in the Singapore Strait, which is only 1.5 miles wide at its narrowest point. This creates a natural bottleneck, with the potential for a collision, grounding, or oil spill (in addition, piracy is a regular occurrence in the Singapore Strait). If the strait were closed, nearly half of the world's fleet would be required to sail further, generating a substantial increase in the requirement for vessel capacity. All excess capacity of the world fleet might be absorbed, with the effect strongest for crude oil shipments and dry bulk such as coal. Closure of the Strait of Malacca would immediately raise freight rates worldwide. More than 50,000 vessels per year transit the Strait of Malacca. With Chinese oil imports from the Middle East increasing steadily, the Strait of Malacca is likely to grow in strategic importance in coming years.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/choke.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/china.html
US concerned at China's 'string of pearls' military plan: Gwadar part of it, reports Washington Times
WASHINGTON (January 19 2005): China is developing military bases and diplomatic ties from the Middle East to the South China Sea in order to protect its oil shipments and strategic interests, according to an internal report prepared for Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, The Washington Times said on Tuesday.
"China is building strategic relationships along the sea lanes from the Middle East to the South China Sea in ways that suggest defensive and offensive positioning to protect China's energy interests, but also to serve broad security objectives," said the report, sponsored by the director of Net Assessment, who heads Mr. Rumsfeld's office on future-oriented strategies.
The "string of pearls" strategy, as the report calls China's move, includes a new naval base under construction at the Pakistani port of Gwadar, naval bases in Myanmar, a military agreement with Cambodia, strengthening ties with Bangladesh and an ambitious plan under consideration to build a 20-billion-dollar canal in Thailand to bypass the Strait of Malacca.
The activity has raised concerns at the Pentagon that China's military build-up, which is taking place faster than earlier estimates, is aimed to project force and undermine US and regional security.
The report said China, by militarily controlling oil shipping sea lanes, could threaten ships, "thereby creating a climate of uncertainty about the safety of all ships on the high seas."
"China... is looking not only to build a blue-water navy to control the sea lanes, but also to develop undersea mines and missile capabilities to deter the potential disruption of its energy supplies from potential threats, including the US Navy, especially in the case of a conflict with Taiwan," said the report produced by defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.
Ping
yeah, they own a few sections....