China’s oil routes are still relatively exposed, making them a potential target if a conflcit over Taiwan erupts in the coming years.
Much of China’s oil comes from the Persian Gulf and has to pass through the Indian Ocean before getting to the country.
But China has very few active military bases in the area, meaning that Western powers could easily blockade China’s oil trade if the country decideds to invade Taiwan, something that President Xi Jinping is allegedly preparing to do by 2027.
That said, Chinese-US relations may be warming up once again, as it’s reported that top military leaders for both countries met in Washington last month.
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Western military and academic strategists are looking at how they could target China’s oil import routes if a conflict over Taiwan breaks out, Reuters reports.
China’s crude-oil carriers are relatively safe once they enter the South China Seas, but before that, they are “veryy vulnerable” in the US-dominated waters of the Indian Ocean, says security scholar David Brewster.
“Chinese naval vessels would effectively be trapped in the Indian Ocean and … they would have little or no air support, because there are no bases or facilities of its own that (China) could rely on.”
China has a base in Djibouti, but it has no airfield and is surrounded by American, French and British bases.
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Fears that China could plan a full-scale invasion of Taiwan continue to mount as China exerts its power over the South China Sea and continues evermore threatening military exercises.
The CIA chief has warned that Jinping ordered his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.
Military relations between the US and China seem to be warming up, however, easing fears of a potential conflict.
The Financial Times reports that top military leaders for both countries met in Washington last month before Jinping’s meeting with President Biden in San Francisco.
It was the first time the attaches met after Beijing closed formal communication channels with the US in August 2022.
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