And now donnie dipshit is begging China to help keep the Straight of Hormuz open - after months of an ill-advised trade war against them.
Originally Posted by tommy156
Nobody is "begging" anyone, tommy. China buys 1.8 million barrels of Iranian oil every day. It's loaded onto tankers that sail through the Strait. The US Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, protects those tankers and keeps the Strait of Hormuz open to all international maritime traffic.
China doesn't want to see its oil supply interrupted. That would hurt its economy. It would hurt the Iranians too, since it would cut off their last major source of foreign exchange revenue. But that doesn't mean the Iranians won't try. Have you ever heard the expression "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face"? It applies throughout the Middle East.
So what if we quietly pointed out the above facts to China and said it would behoove them to remind their Iranian friends it would be in nobody's interest to try and block the Strait? Why does that trigger you, tommy? No "begging" was involved.
At its narrowest point, the Strait is 21 miles wide. The Iranians have tried unsuccessfully to mine it in the past. If they try again, the US Navy Fifth Fleet will blast their little dinghies out of the water and swoop in with minesweepers to keep all Persian Gulf traffic open.
Perhaps you never thought about this, tommy. Doesn't it strike you as odd that US taxpayers are footing the bill to protect oil shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf on behalf of China et alia? Shouldn't we send China an invoice for our services?