NEDude

Yes, because hidden in my comment was the assertion that China was immune to any conflict...

Seriously, where on earth do you get China out of my comment?! There are many places in the world that have potential for armed conflict, including China. But my comment was specifically aimed at the current issues in the Persian Gulf region that are escalating quickly and in no way were implying that China and the far east were immune from potential conflict.


But, since you did bring it up. Even if China were to begin a shooting war over the South China Sea, there are plenty of places Chinese Airlines could fly well outside of the conflict zones. Not so for Qatar, Emirates and Etihad should the Iran - Saudi Arabia issue escalate to large scale armed conflict. East and North are Iran, West and South are Saudi Arabia and Yemen (where a proxy war between the Saudis and Iranians is already ongoing). For the UAE and Qatar, very small countries which lie squarely in the middle of the conflict zone, the situation is entirely different than China which is one of the largest countries on earth. Outside of the potential economic issues, China getting into a shooting war over the South China Sea would have as much of an impact over flight safety as the United States getting into a shooting war over the Caribbean. Sure flights to the Bahamas would be affected, but the flights from Los Angeles to New York would be well outside of the conflict area. If China were to get into a fight, flights from Chengdu to Beijing, or China to North America, China to Europe, would all be well outside any conflict zone.