China needs more supertankers to ensure oil supply security?

Question

(Xinhua,Aug 11, 2006 )BEIJING--China needs to drastically expand its supertanker fleet to safeguard the security of its oil supplies, sources said Friday.
China is now the world's second largest crude oil importer. Imported crude accounts for 43 percent of its consumption. But over 90 percent of its imports are currently transported by foreign oil tankers, the Shanghai Securities News reported Friday.

The setup is both economically and strategically unsound, it said.

China has begun to build a strategic oil reserve system, but a strategic transport system is equally important, the newspaper said.

Li Lianzhong, an official with the central policy research institution, said, "To safeguard the security of national oil supplies, at least 50 percent of crude imports must be transported by our own supertankers."

source:http://www.zoomchina.com.cn/index.php?/content/view/11105/1/

Answer 1

i can't exactly formulate my thoughts into words. i will try anyway.
its always important to be self dependent. but the way news sounds it feels like we the human are on a war (well, I guess we are someway or the other). its just becoz of our lack of trust to other human we are feeling a false sense of insecurity, when we really don't have any. and i believe money is in the root of all this evils.
moreover, isn't it a inconsiderate decision, to increase china's oil tanker fleet, when as far as i know we have only around 30 years more of oil supply before it totally runs out. so wouldn't it be a better idea to invest all those money on the research and development of renewable energy? better for the mother earth, and hopefully at least war for energy could have been avoided by this way, or is it.

Answer 2

I totally agree as they need oil to fuekl their economy which is growing at a breakneck pace of 12%a year versus the USA @ 3.4%. God help the rest of the world when a fraction of their 1.2 BILLION PEOPLE get cars . They will eat oil at 5 times the USAs pace . Just a look into the future and it beckons high, higher , and highest oil prices yet .