China is aggressively building its fleet of ships and aircraft and the refineries to support that domination.
Published July 5, 2023, at CFACT https://www.cfact.org/2023/07/05/china-seeks-military-dominance-through-fossil-fuels/
Ronald Stein is an engineer, senior policy advisor on energy literacy for the Heartland Institute and CFACT, and co-author of the Pulitzer Prize nominated book “Clean Energy Exploitations.”
As the world watches, China has been aggressively building its fleet of ships and aircraft, in anticipation of a potential attack on Taiwan by the Chinese.
To support that military domination, China is also aggressively building its fossil fuels refining capabilities to power those ships and aircraft. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is aggressively campaigning to rid America of fossil fuels inclusive of in-America oil production and oil refining!
For all Americans, the 42-minute CBS 60 Minutes presentation video is a must viewing on The state of the U.S. Navy as China builds up its naval force and threatens Taiwan. CBS also provided a transcript of the July 2nd presentation for reading at your leisure.
Probably due to time constraints for the excellent 60 Minutes broadcast, was CBS’s lack of coverage of China’s expansion of its refining capabilities, to manufacture OPEC and Russian oil into the fuels needed by China’s growing fleet of ships and aircraft.
Asia is the region with the greatest number of future petroleum refineries. The amount of oil fed through refineries in Asia has significantly increased in the past three decades as demand for manufactured fuels and petroleum products surged in developing countries such as China and India, both with significant less stringent environmental regulations than those in America. As reported by Reuters, China’s oil refining capacity overtook the United States as the world’s largest in 2022.
Unbeknownst to President Joe Biden, is that China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are great War historians. As World War I and II historians, Russia, China, and OPEC know, the country that controls the minerals, crude oil, and natural gas, controls the world!
Biden has a short memory of petrochemical products and human ingenuity being the reasons for the world populating from 1 to 8 billion in less than two hundred years. Ridding America of oil, before identifying a replacement, is immoral and evil, as extreme shortages of the products and fuels now manufactured from fossil fuels will result in billions of fatalities from diseases, malnutrition, and weather-related deaths, and will have overwhelmingly negative impacts on GDP, national security, and development.
With China pursuing military domination, President Joe Biden continues moving to rid America of fossil fuels while simultaneously pursuing the generation of occasional electricity from wind turbines and solar panels. Thus, Biden is doing an excellent job of actively relinquishing “CONTROL” of the crude oil supply to OPEC and Russia, and refining capacity to China!
In January 2019, there were 135 operating refineries in America. As of January 1, 2023, there were 129 operable petroleum refineries in the United States. The recent closures have resulted in the United States losing nearly 1 million barrels per day of oil refining capacity, with more set to be shuttered in the next few years.
The future does not bode well as 20 percent of the 700 worldwide aging refineries are projected to close in the next 5 years that will result in less manufacturing with the loss of 140 sites to meet the ever-growing demands of ships, aircraft, and the derivatives needed for all the products demanded by society. With less manufacturing in wealthy countries in the days ahead, further shortages and inflation of both fuels and products in perpetuity are guaranteed.
In the years ahead, as Biden focuses on ridding the USA of fossil fuels, America’s powerful and elite military fleet of ships and aircraft will become more dependent on the fuels and oil-based products manufactured in China’s refineries!
Ronald Stein, P.E.
Ambassador for Energy & Infrastructure
Ronald Stein (energy consultant) Wikipedia page
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If the US looks bad then what about Australia, 7 refineries back in the early 2010s, now just 2 refineries remain, not to mention the massive amount of coal Australia is selling to China
With them being on the east coast. (;-(
9
Coal is not the big target in Australia for China. China gets most of its 4200Mt of coal from local suppliers. Indonesia is their largest supplier of imported coal.
By contrast China imports close to 1000Mt of iron ore from Australia. The mines in the Pilbara would be a major target.
I think the author woefully underestimates Chinese ambition. Their fleet is not for an attack on Taiwan – they could accomplish much of that with land based aircraft. The fleet is designed to assert control and dominance over the entire Pacific region from the Bay of Bengal down to the Banda Sea and as far as Hawaii towards the USA. I mentioned in an earlier thread that they have a ‘mutual defence framework’ with the Solomon Islands, putting Chinese warships on the doorsteps of Australia and New Zealand. India seems to be the only country building a capable navy to resist Chinese influence on their doorstep. While the Biden regime is napping, China is busy building a fleet and a network of ‘allies’ across the Pacific region.
China is not interested in the doorsteps of Australia and New Zealand. They want everything behind the door. With all of Australia’s resources under their control and with military bases east north and west, China could expand in any direction they wanted. And they wouldn’t be dependent on Russia. (OK, they might take Russia first, but strategically I don’t think that’s too good an idea without a non-Russian source of materials).
Thank goodness Daniel Andrews can only sell Victoria to the Chinese, not the whole of Australia.
Erm you misunderstand – with the Solomon Island treaty they are on Australia and New Zealand’s doorsteps already. I think China learned the lessons of WW2 and is looking for economic alliance/dominance with the Pacific nations whilst militarily dominating the water between. With that in mind, how much of Australia’s resources does China own already?
What the Chinese learned after WWII is that rather than any form of indemnification for what the Japanese did to them, those islands were to become advanced bases for the US. They weren’t even invited to participate in the negotiations that set up the post-war Asian peace and had no part in the terms of the Treaty of San Francisco. Why should the Chinese care about what the US thinks?
Absent 10’s of thousands of American dead, plus lots of American treasure sunk or blown up, those Chinese would still be slaves of the Japanese. Why would they be invited to help set up the post-War peace. What part were they prepared to play in maintaining that peace?
It seems that Biden is paid to nap via payments to Hunter and Jim via Chinese owned entities. While he naps, the U.S. petroleum reserve is draining. Further, it appears that the FBI and DOJ at the very least are protecting the Biden family.
It’s more difficult to find something that is not corrupt.
That’s correct. The Buyden Crime Family gets $40-50m. China gets Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and additional countries to be named later.
That’s a better deal than Manhattan.
Especially when you consider that the Indians at Manhattan (“the place where we all got drunk”) weren’t even from there – they’d just camped there during a long hunting trip!
G’Day Scissor,
“While he naps, the U.S. petroleum reserve is draining.”
In the event of an invasion. The US Navy has nuclear powered major warships, but every thing else, from escort vessels to transports carrying troops and supplies, to aircraft, all depend on fossil fuels. And the Strategic Oil Reserve? Maybe we can get some oil from the Middle East…..
The drawdown of the SOR was supposed to lower gasoline pump prices in the US. I sort of wondered about that. Then the apparent reluctance to begin to commence to start replenishing the Reserve. Now I’m really wondering.
Sea level rise is irrelevant…
“The U.S. estimates China has added 3,200 acres of land on seven features (which includes rocky outcrops and reefs) over the past three years, although China denies it is militarizing the islands it has built. Last week, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that the defense equipment on the islands was there to maintain “freedom of navigation”. “
https://www.newsweek.com/china-south-china-sea-islands-build-military-territory-expand-575161
Freedom for Chinese navigation, that is.
The real irony is that China only has to bide its time as the west destroys itself. It has even cottoned on to the language of the American mainstream…
“It’s 2021 and the Chinese regime has started lecturing the US on racism and injustice. Yes, that’s the same Chinese regime that has put a million Uyghur Muslims in re-education camps.
Beijing has released a new report on supposed human-rights violations in the US. It opens with a quote from George Floyd – ‘I can’t breathe!’ – and goes on to state that ‘racism exists in a comprehensive, systematic and continuous manner’ in the US. According to the Chinese government, ethnic minorities in America have been ‘devastated by racial discrimination’.
This may sound like the kind of thing you’d hear from your average social-justice warrior – but it has become a familiar refrain in Beijing. “
https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/03/25/china-is-weaponising-wokeness/
They don’t have to look very hard to spot the weaknesses in western societies. Then again, neither do we.
“”re-education camps
There are similar places all over The West now and as fulfils their real name and purpose, they are..
…..de-education camps…
What used to be called ‘Universities”
Even worse, western kids have to take out mortgages to pay to go these places – do the Ulghurs pay (financially) for their ‘education’
The Uyghurs don’t get a choice [of camp] and qualifying for the course only requires a state of being.
Interesting coming from what is probably the most racist society in the world today.
The US is one of the least racist countries on the planet.
“The US is one of the least racist countries on the planet.”
So Mark I realise that you are welcome to your opinion, but do you have any evidence for that statement?
My research says you are a way off the mark. Seems the US comes in at 69 (according World Population view)
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/least-racist-countries
https://news.yahoo.com/10-worst-countries-racial-equality-040100670.html
Hey but there are 9 countries below you, so that’s something.
Perceived racism. It’s almost impossible to obtain an objective view of an incredibly sujective idea. Thanks mainly to the divisive policies of the Democrats in the US, perceived racism is far worse than reality there. A case in point is France – 11th on the list but after the recent events you have to wonder if that’s just wishful thinking – UK is 16th yet we’ve never seen the kind of racially motivated violence they’ve had in France.
Give me some evidence that the evidence you present is less contaminated by far left ideology than is most of the trash you come up with?
“Give me some evidence that the evidence you present is less contaminated by far left ideology than is most of the trash you come up with?”
Haha brilliant. So folks thats Marks code for. “I got noffing.”
Well all that you wrote just serves to confirm that you, also, ‘got noffing.’
“Make it up Mark” (the name is so apt) can’t find anything that backs up his nonsense (once again). At least I found an article, even if you don’t agree with it.
MarkW, I wasn’t referring to the U.S.. Immigration numbers backup your statement.
By 2003 the U.S. Navy had accumulated over 5,400 “reactor years” of accident-free experience, and operated more than 80 nuclear-powered ships.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_navy
In comparison the Chinese have only been operating their nuclear submarines for about 47 years. But still no nuclear surface vessels – not sure why.
Possibly reluctant to rely on vulnerable, large surface ships for their navy. They certainly have many large tankers and container ships.
Yeah. Apart from a few aircraft carriers (probably as a matter of prestige) most of the Chinese navy appears to be built around smaller missile carriers. Given the developments they’ve made in hypersonic anti-ship missiles and the hypersonic/squall-type missile torpedo (imagine SUBROC on steroids) it would make sense to put them on multiple, smaller platforms.
Everbody knows that Joe Biden is a wise man the very source of the facts, a few days ago or last week he said the following: “It´s hard to tell, but Putin is clearly losing the war in Iraq. He´s losing the war at home.
Biden controls nothing, those who do, fx CFR, know the statement about control very well, think, Henry Kissinger. They knows very well was China is up to. The dementia of Biden is used as a tool in the pursuit of legitimization of the “AI-Bibel” they worships.
Those who sits in CFR admire the Chinese model and that´s why they are doing nothing, or doing as they do, the end game, is about socialist utilitarianism as presented by Jeremy Bentham in his books, fx Panopticon (1791), back in the 1790s and early 1800s.
Have you ever wonderded why Trump withdrew the United States from the WHO, then their was no USA just China left, think CFRs “wet” dreams, CDBCs, Social Credit Scores and the Canadian legislation MAID. To them, to quote, Yuval Noah Harari, from WEF, many of us is useless people. Thats what the digital-panopticon or – the “inspection” house, is all about.
A man like Henry Kissinger, is 100 years old, George Soros and Klaus Scwab are not either spring hares anymore unfortunally their cognitive dissonans is a bit sharper than Bidens.
To put i bluntly, yesterday or a few days ago someone in here wrote that using the words Climate Crisis was a reductionism trap, in the same way it´s wrong to point at Biden, Biden is just a tool. Just saying.
“The dementia of Biden is used…”
To paraphrase Saul Goodman….
It’s elder abuse
Point taken … 14. June when the White House proclaimed that this day would be used to draw attention on elderly abuse had vanished into the mists of memory. In my “defense” since they didn´t use Biden as an example, that can´t be true.
Agree it´s elder abuse, my mistake … shit … right now I wish Kamala harris was here to save me (;)
Just how much kompromat do you suppose Chinese intelligence services have on our leaders and elites? How compromised is President Brandon? How else can you explain our irrational national security and climate policies?
Short-sighted stupidity and self-interested graft?
The CCP doesn’t need kompromat on the Democrats and eGOP. Those Congress critters are happy to accept “contributions” to LLCs and family members to sell out the U.S.A.. They are bought, and they like it.
You can keep telling the useful idiots-
‘It’ll take 80 years’: Former Snowy Hydro CEO debunks govt’s 8-year renewable target (msn.com)
Commentator Peta Credlin made a memorable statement the other day- They keep telling us renewables are the cheapest form of energy but they sure don’t feel cheap.
The Chicoms have no competent opposition. They have compromised the leadership of the United States, the one nation that could foil their evil plans.
We need to get Trump back in the saddle to turn this situation around.
Trump took in $35 million in campaign contributions the last three months. That is twice the amount he took in the previous three month period. Looks like Trump is on a roll.
Trump can go visit Vietnam and talk to them about how the Chicoms are trying to steal the entire ocean out from under surrounding nations. The Chicoms tried to steal some Vietnamese land on their common border back in the 1980’s and the Vietnamese troops kicked the Chicoms butts when it came to blows, and Vietnam still posseses that land. Xi should take that into consideration if he is thinking about maybe taking on Vietnam militarily. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog, that makes the difference. When was the last time your Chicom Warriors won a major battle, Xi? Slaughering helpless Tibetans doesn’t count.
Here’s what the Vietnamese think about China’s thefts:
https://www.axios.com/2023/07/05/barbie-movie-banned-vietnam-china
“As the world gears up for the blockbuster release of the new “Barbie” movie this month, one country won’t be diving into Barbie world: Vietnam.
Driving the news: Vietnamese officials banned screenings of the forthcoming film this week because it shows a map with disputed Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea, per state media.
The big picture: The map in question shows the U-shaped, “nine-dash line” that reflects China’s unilateral and disputed claims to swaths of the South China Sea.
What’s next: The Philippines is reportedly considering whether to ban “Barbie” for the same reason, Variety reported.
end excerpts
Sounds like the region is ripe for a little leadership from the United States. Unfortunately, we won’t get that from Democrats. They are clueless about national defense, especially their leader, the appeaser, Joe Biden.
Trump is the one to straighten this out. He may not be the only one, but he is one of the few, and he has a proven track record on the subject, unlike any of the other candidates. You are rolling the dice with the other candidates. You are not rolling the dice with Trump, because you know what you are going to get: Lower taxes, less regulation, a sane energy policy, a secure border and a tough foreign policy.
Hollywood doesn’t work in a vacuum – if the producer of the Barbie film is appeasing China then he’s getting his cue from the wokists, including the Biden regime.
I learned early in my career that there are some jobs that require an absolute a-hole/S0B to perform them properly… no one else can put up with the accompanying BS :<)
China is getting a huge pay-back for all of its bribes to the Buydens
‘Cast your bread upon the Potomac, and it shall return unto you tenfold, less 10% for the big guy.’
As World War I and II historians, Russia, China, and OPEC know, the country that controls the minerals, crude oil, and natural gas, controls the world!
Indeed – the reason Japan attacked the US was because the US imposed an energy embargo on Japan
Of course that embargo only covered resources that were controlled by the US, everyone else was still free to sell to Japan if they wanted.
Why don’t you mention the reasons why the US imposed an energy embargo. The massacres that were going on in Japanese occupied territories, especially in China.
“Why don’t you mention the reasons why the US imposed an energy embargo.”
He left that part out.
Will China export oil, gas, and coal to assert its dominance?
Oil maybe, but it’s a net importer of gas and coal. Currently it’s trying to assert it’s dominance through the export of processed goods (mobile phones, computers, batteries, renewables and other consumer goods) and subsidised steel.
We cannot get the Biden crime family out of office quick enough. But we still will have the brain washed super lib problem and atleast 1/2,of The US congress is delusional as well as graft ridden. China had systematically gone through all 20th century history and addressed all the mistakes Japan made and is negating all our strengths that allowed us to win ww2?and the cold war. And don’t think the chinese people will rise up and over throw their government – not happening.
They have really screwed the pouch this time. Someone save us please( now who could that be)
What do you have against bags?
Could be marsupials?
China needs to be very careful that her desire for hegemony doesn’t exceed her global economic dependency. While the world has given China her current manufacturing market dominance, it is a sword that cuts most who wields it.
Though in this current western world of boneless politicians, perhaps nothing fatal, and this is Xi’s gamble. No one President nor Prime Minister today has the intestinal fortitude to act against China being consumed by green new deals and allowing men to dominate women’s sports. But, we love us some beta-males. Don’t we. We elected them by the bushel. Then wonder why all our progress isn’t! 😒
China is good at ping pong and solar panels. It has an army that is only good at holding guns to the head of its own population and starving Chine.
The US is very good, as the best in the world, at keeping the sea lanes open, growing food, and producing cheap energy.
What do you think will happen if China fires one missile at anyone?
The sea lanes will close and mass starvation in six months.
Refineries run on oil. While I do not think the US has the military capacity to invade China or Russia, closing down sea lanes and blowing up pipe lines would not be that hard.
Bottom line is that trade is good for the US and China. If it ends, so will China. It will be painful for the US because we will pay more for solar panels.
Let’s don’t fall for the failed idea that trade with China will prevent a military conflict. That idea has been disproven time and time again.
As for trade with China being good for the US, have you met people whose jobs went to China? Is it good for us to export jobs in order to buy cheap stuff? Is it wise to enrich our enemies? China is surely an enemy, just like the USSR once was.
Of course trade will not prevent military conflict.
I do not think of the people of Russia or China as our enemies. However I am glad I did not serve in the military under the CCP or the USSR.
When I worked in China, I found the Chinese to be very friendly.
I don’t believe that anyone has declared that trade is a guarantee against war.
However the fact remains that turning the S. China sea into a war zone will cause a world of pain to China. Mostly from the loss of trade as most companies won’t send their ships into an active war zone.
Of course the leaders of China may decide that the distraction provided by a war is worth the cost to peons who have no say in what goes on in the first place.
This post is political and has little to do with climate.
It is just another China bashing exercise, ‘military dominance and attack on Taiwan’ what rubbish. Just look at the number of US military bases around the world. Wake up to yourself.
What does your statement about how thinly US forces are spread out have to do with a post about China’s military ambitions and the progress they’ve made in achieving them?
The US has been building it’s military capability since the end of WW2.
China has responded in order to be able to defend itself.
China has been developing hypersonic missiles faster than Russia and a large Navy who’s sole purpose is to launch them. The most dangerous hypersonic missile in the world has, for many years, been deployed on Chinese vessels – they are now developing a new one which is fired as a missile then goes into the water as a supercavitating torpedo (like the Russian Sqvall) with a speed of nearly 230 mph underwater. The Chinese, instead of focussing on aircraft carriers, have developed a big navy designed to sink carrier battle groups quickly and have continued to refine the weapons and tactics since the 70’s and 80’s. The US Navy, by comparison, peaked in the late 90’s and have had failure after failure in ships, training and discipline – the US military has just started testing hypersonic missiles, 10-15 years after the Russians and Chinese.
Wake up and realise that China is a very dangerous, very credible threat and relying on ‘same old, same old’ stuff developed from WW2 ideas will no longer be good enough.
‘China is very dangerous’, you said it . .
Yes I did say it and meant it; what have you got against a simple statement of fact? China has been aggressive and threatening to it’s neighbours and has ambitions to project that aggression across the whole Pacific, possibly the whole world, if unchecked.
China is actually doing everything they have been accusing the US of doing, but it’s OK because the US is bad.
If your belief that China is building up it’s military in order to protect itself from the US, why has China been using that military to bully it’s neighbors who were never a threat to them in the first place.
Beyond that, do you have any actual evidence that the US was planning on attacking China? Or do you just accept whatever the Chinese dictators say at face value?
Pointing out what the Chinese are doing, is China bashing?
Please let us know next time there is a Chinese warship off the coast of US.
I won’t be holding my breath . .
How about off the coast of Taiwan? Or doesn’t that count as high as off the coast of the US?
Check your geography, the coast of Taiwan is the coast of China. Only about half a world away . .
No. That is where you’re very wrong. The coast of Taiwan is the coast of Taiwan since the civil war/ 1949. NOT the coast of China. Rethink Your geography. Maps are your friend.
So China is allowed to bully any country that is closer to it than the US is?
‘Off the coast’ oh – that’s so WW2. What’s the range of the Chinese ship-borne hypersonic missiles? 1,900 miles with a very low chance of being intercepted by anything currently in the US armoury. Wake up – this isn’t WW2 any more.
The last time there was a US ship in Chinese territorial waters was back while we were freeing China from Japanese occupation.
BTW, in terms of trying to change the subject, I give you 3 out of 5 stars, you need to take lessons from Nick.
I believe this is well recognised and the reason for the AUKUS alliance. Australia currently controls China’s iron ore supply. Without nuclear capability, Australia is a soft target.
Despite the alliance, I doubt China is worried. China already has a strong grip on the global economy. The value of Chinese exports has exceeded the value of US exports since the GFC and the Chinese dominance continues to grow. China produces 56% of global new steel.
The more the Chinese come to dominate world trade, the more the Chinese will be hurt if that world trade collapses.
Beyond that, what are the insurance rates going to be for ships traversing the China sea, if it becomes an active shooting zone?
Have a look at what they are if you want to take a ship into the Black Sea now – insurers, if they’ll insure the ship at all, are charging collossal amounts. It now costs more to insure than it does to hire a ship in the first place.
Once the US military goes all solar and wind power….
… and fully woke and LGBQWERTY soup….
China can just walk in !
Shell has impure thoughts-
Shell boss’s comments on oil output ‘irresponsible’ – U.N. climate chief (msn.com)
You get the feeling the climate changers are beginning to swim against an ebbing tide.
That is why we have an open southern border, to bring in adequate replacement peons.
There’s a reason why the Democrats are fighting to allow illegal immigrants to vote.
Along with those 16 years old and younger.