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A recent CSIS analysis highlights the economic vulnerabilities that Pacific Island countries face as a result of their reliance on imported oil. The ongoing war in the Middle East has resulted in a supply shock that largely prices out buyers with less deep pockets. Going forward, the Pacific Island countries face a related but very different challenge: the potential for Chinese strikes against their (few and very small) oil storage facilities, port handling infratsructure, and even their (few and very small centralized) elecricity generation facilities in the event of a China-United States war in the Pacific in which these coutries, including but not limited to the dependencies of countries including the Untied States, United Kingdom, and others, are not strict neutrals in a conflict. See the following for a discussion of how China may go about undertaking such strikes.
