[MarketWatch] In the old days, it would have been absolutely essential for the United States to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz‐through which a third of the world’s crude oil passes daily‐remained open. It is less essential now, thanks to the oil shale revolution, which has once again made America an oil giant. We now produce more oil than Saudi Arabia and more than the Russians.
Meantime, China has become not only the biggest consumer of energy in the world, it has become, since 2014, the biggest importer of oil in the world. So why isn’t China‐which has an increasingly powerful blue water navy and can project its might with growing ease‐doing more to protect the flow of oil? Its oil?
So why is the United States doing the heavy lifting in the Persian Gulf? If war breaks out with Iran, it’ll be the U.S. Navy, American men and women in uniform, and the American taxpayer that will bear the burden. Not China‐which needs Mideast oil more than we do.
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