I am interested in what China will do. They need the oil, and have contracts with the current government. If their deal goes south, what will they do?
China doesn't need to do a thing. ISIS, once it takes over, will happily confirm those contracts. They need to sell oil! And China is a very good customer, with infinite funding and with infinite demand. Why would ISIS cancel the deal?
China said on Thursday it was preparing to help evacuate a small number of people working for Chinese companies in Iraq, and repeated an offer to help Iraq fight terrorism though it declined to say if it would provide military support.
China has long upheld the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and has not, in recent decades, sent military forces to directly intervene in foreign crises, though its military does participate in U.N. peace keeping operations and anti-piracy patrols off Somalia.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/19/us-iraq-security-china-idUSKBN0EU0TU20140619
Meanwhile they have been making deals with Russia.
Hadn’t thought about that. Maybe they’re working with the Russians who are now about to provide air cover. Wouldn’t surprise me if they already have advisors there. Completely cut out soetoro and the Americans.
China will do what it has been doing for several years now. They will sit it out, capitalize on our mistakes, and sign an agreement with whichever side wins. This is how the US used to conduct itself when it was a rising power.