A flare-up in Bahrain could spark a broader regional conflict between Sunnis and Shias. If it did, the US would be left with the awkward question of how to handle China.
To the extent that the media have linked events in the Arab world with China, they’ve tended to focus on Beijing’s fear of the Jasmine revolutions. But there’s another connection between developments in Southwest Asia and China that has been overlooked.
It’s impossible to forecast how the string of Arab uprisings that started with the Tunisian revolt will unfold. But the continuing tensions in Bahrain, which went relatively unnoticed compared with the upheavals in Egypt and Libya until the cancellation of the F-1 Grand Prix hit the headlines, have the potential to start a cataclysmic chain reaction.
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