Almost a decade ago, outgoing Chinese President Hu Jintao identified the country’s “Malacca Dilemma,” referring to the channel between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra that connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as a grave strategic threat. Roughly 80% of China’s energy imports pass through that potential chokepoint, which is mostly policed by the US Navy.
当然，中国投资这些基础设施不可能出于利他主义。即将卸任的中国国家主席胡锦涛在近十年前提出中国处于“马六甲困境”，这个位于马来半岛和印度尼西亚苏门答腊岛之间的海峡连接着印度洋和太平洋，是一个重大战略威胁。大约80%的中国能源进口通过这一几乎完全听命于美国海军的潜在阻塞点进入中国。现在正在开发的缅甸油矿将让中国对马六甲海峡的依赖程度降低三分之一。