Chinese academics are suggesting that an oil pipeline should be constructed from Burma to China in order to reduce the country's dependence on oil imports shipped through the Strait of Malacca. "Most of China's oil imports come from the Middle East and Africa. Given the current situation in the Malacca Strait, we feel that we should come up with a suitable alternative," Professor Li Chengyang, a co-author of the proposal noted. One of the problems is that southeastern Asia is home to the world's most pirate-infested waters, with 79 attacks in the first quarter of this year, according to the...