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12h 44min, feb 8, 2015 y - With Oil And Gas Pipelines, China Takes A Shortcut Through Myanmar

Description:

On the 29th of January, China opened, with little fanfare, a new oil link through Myanmar.

The new route however, has one invaluable advantage in eyes of Chinese leaders: it bypasses the Malacca straits, whose infamous waters are infested with pirates.

That oil will now flow to Kunming, the capital of the southeast Chinese province of Yunnan, which borders Myanmar. The pipeline shortens the distance the oil will have to travel by sea to reach China by 700 miles. It also cuts by 30% the time this liquid black gold will take to get to the Middle Kingdom.

Avoiding the Malacca detour had the other, even more invaluable advantage in the eyes of the Chinese leadership. With 80% of all imported hydrocarbons to China going through the Malacca sea-route, China is vulnerable to having its overseas energy supplies blockaded by the American 6th Fleet during a Sino-U.S. geopolitical crisis. The Burmese pipeline diminishes that risk, as the oil and natural gas will no long have to pass through the Malacca Straits chokepoint.

Another even bigger behemoth project is now in the works, a railway line is being discussed, which will follow the route taken by the pipelines. This project has a price tag of $20 billion dollars and would allow China to more easily import Burma’s precious wood and all sorts of other commodities, while also facilitating the flow of Chinese workers to the coast. As of now, no decision has been taken, but given Beijing’s leverage, the construction of the new railroad seems to be foregone conclusion.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericrmeyer/2015/02/09/oil-and-gas-china-takes-a-shortcut/#b7a2b7a7aff0

Added to timeline:

22 Jan 2018
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One Belt One Road
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Date:

12h 44min, feb 8, 2015 y
Now
~ 9 years ago
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