Hmm. How many oil wars has China started?

ARTICLE: "U.S. Defense Secretary Issues Veiled Warning to China Not to Bully Neighbors Over Energy," by Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 31 May 2008, p. A8.

China's tendency to claim territorial waters and the resources found therein is hardly beyond the great power pale.

To be fair, Gates praised as much as he warned, but seriously, America is so blithely unaware of its tendency to make statements publicly that make other nations' jaws drop.

Who has made war repeatedly in the oil-rich regions of the world and who has not? The Chinese bribe and sell arms, definitely, but that hardly beats actual wars. Slimy, yes, but please keep some perspective.

Granted, we do so for the best of global reasons (hell, I make a career out of such strategic rationales), keeping an "open door" in the region, from which China benefits greatly (and Chinese players will tell you that privately with little angst).

But then we start lecturing China preemptively over its potential strong-arming of situations.

If we are simply more honest with ourselves and the world about the security role we play, everything would be a lot more transparent. But when we layer the sanctimonious warnings on top, it does get under their skin--as in, "Who the hell are you to be lecturing me?" It simply raises suspicions about our real intentions.

Good example: we tell China it's got too many nuke missiles for mere defense, and then China counts up ours and wonders how we can make such statements while sticking missile defense sites in various places.

Again, our honesty about ourselves and our role in the world is the most important transparency to be had. Every other nation's transparency is a function of our choice.

Comments

[Louis Heberlein]

China has been the central player in political-economic crises theories for decades. A science fiction book "Systematic Shock" by Dean Ing in 1981 portrays WW III started about now by a scheming China cleverly cheating on global oil markets after realizing before other nations that the economic globalization impact would overwhelm energy modernization. It was not well written, but it reads far better than the 'serious' analyses portrayed in news media today. In the book, China did not bop anyone. It just made mutually beneficial deals with key producers and allied users that produced and stored oil that was not known to the open market world ... until vengeful Russians discovered and exposed the scheme.

[Bill C.]

If I were China, I would believe that the clear strategy of the United States was to contain me, by way of limiting my access to energy, and via such measures as Iraq/Afghanistan, AFRICOM, the Fourth Fleet, the Guam buildup, and the new military emphasis on counterinsurgency (designed to preclude my ability to use money to transform governments to my will).

[Joe S.]

It would be prudent for China to simply step back and let the United States immolate itself over imperialist ambitions. One day soon we'll wake up and find that China and India are the world's superpowers, and the US is a third rate economic power because it squandered all its investment capital on armies of occupation.

[Derek Scruggs]

From China's perspective, they're surrounded by the US - bases in Japan, S Korea, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan (or one of the other Stans, can't remember), selling weapons to Taiwan and spy planes off the coast of Hainan island. Imagine if China had a similar stance vis a vis Europe or the Middle East. (And let's not even consider the US mainland - Cuban Missile Crisis x 10)

[Luigi]

I found this a cool way of thinking about China: http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2008/06/18/292-china-as-an-island/

[Anonymous]

Luigi: i agree and sent that same link to Tom. thanks :-)