Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

China may join Iran-Pak-India gas pipeline


The US is opposed to the project as it is a means for Iran to build up its economic infrastructure. Not to mention the US wants leverage over China by way of controlling the flow of oil.

In a world that runs on oil, the nation that controls the flow of oil has great strategic power. U.S. policy-makers want leverage over the economies of competitors -- Western Europe, Japan and China -- that are more dependent on Middle Eastern oil.
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Washington policy now encompasses a series of "democratic" or soft coup projects which would strategically cut China off from access to the vital oil and gas reserves of the Caspian, including Kazakhstan. The earlier Asian Great Silk Road trade routes went through Tashkent in Uzbekistan and Almaty in Kazakhstan for geographically obvious reasons, in a region surrounded by major mountain ranges.

Geopolitical control of Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan and Kazakhstan would enable control of any potential pipeline routes between China and Central Asia, just as the encirclement of Russia allows for the control of pipeline and other ties between it and Western Europe, China, India and the Mideast.
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-Am

China may join Iran-Pak-India gas pipeline
SAIBAL DASGUPTA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2005 10:32:43 PM ]

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BEIJING: Officials of the petroleum ministries of India and China are engaged in a serious dialogue about the possibility of Chinese participation in the India-Iran gas pipeline. The matter involves sensitive foreign policy issues as US is opposed to the project.

The two sides also discussed the recent withdrawal of the bid to acquire US energy firm Unocal by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. Chinese officials explained the country’s viewpoint with regard to the aborted acquisition, and expressed unhappiness about the outcome of their efforts, sources said.

"Both sides are assessing implications of this issue. We are trying to find out what lessons learn from this episode," Talmiz Ahmad, additional secretary (international co-operation) in ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said. He is leading a seven-member Indian delegation for four days.

On its part, the US is opposed to the idea of any country helping Iran to build up its economic infrastructure. The US has said that it would take action against any country helping Iran until the later changes its policies concerning terrorism, sources said.

Indian and Chinese officials have begun working on a MoU on extensive co-operation in the energy sector including joint participation in projects. The discussion also covers the possibility of Chinese participation in the India-Iran pipeline project.

The two countries are working on a draft memorandum of understanding on extensive cooperation on energy security including the possibility of jointly participating in projects. They expect to sign by year end.

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), another state-run Chinese company, is particularly interested in participating in the project. The CNPC is at present engaged in construction of the 998-km China-Kazakhstan oil pipeline, which is scheduled by year end.

The proposed gas pipeline is seen by some as a policy initiative to bring the countries in the region closer to each other, and possibly counter US influence in the region. The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier told Parliament that US has no influence over the fate of Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1198547.cms