Washington, Oct 6 (IANS) US Vice President JD Vance said that the Trump administration expects a major Alaska natural gas pipeline to move forward, citing strong demand from Japan and other Asian economies, even as details involving South Korea remain unresolved.
Vance, speaking to reporters before departing aboard Air Force Two for Alaska, said the administration “really” wants to see the project happen and argued that demand for American natural gas would help overcome outstanding issues.
“The pipeline is something that we really want to see happen and a lot of our Asian friends want to see happen as well,” Vance said.
“It’s not just the South Koreans the Japanese would love to see this pipeline a lot of the East Asian economies that have suffered from higher natural gas prices would love to see more American gas flowing into their economies.”
Asked whether Alaskans should trust that the pipeline would proceed even though South Korea has said a deal was not finalised, Vance acknowledged that negotiations were not complete.
“So I think it’s something that’s going to happen obviously, you still got to work out some of the details,” he said.
“And the South Korean, you know, have spoken to that but when there’s a demand for this stuff and there really is strong demand for American natural gas, I think we’re going to be able to get it done.”
Vance’s comments on energy came during a wide-ranging exchange that also touched on Iran, the attempted hijacking of a FlyDubai flight and security precautions surrounding US military assets in Britain.
Asked whether Iran was involved in the FlyDubai incident, Vance said he would defer to CIA Director John Ratcliffe and other intelligence officials.
“I don’t want to get ahead of any announcements there, but it’s certainly something we’re looking at but I wouldn’t say I’ve seen anything conclusive just yet,” he said.
Vance said the incident was also prompting the administration to examine procedures governing people who could pose flight risks.
“We’re certainly looking at our procedures within the United States to make sure that people who are obviously flight risks are not getting behind the wheel of an airplane,” he said.
He invoked the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks while arguing for greater scrutiny of people entering the United States.
“Any time you have any person coming from outside the United States, you’ve got to be extra careful that that person is actually one a good human being is going to contribute to American society,” Vance said.
On a separate suspected security threat in Britain that resulted in US bombers being moved from a base, Vance said the administration was taking precautions.
“What you saw there is the Secretary of war, out of an abundance of caution, trying to protect our guys,” he said.
“We do feel with some confidence that the Iranians are you know, they’re trying to do what the Iranian state has done for 49 years, which is engage in acts of terrorism against the United States and against a lot of other people as well.”
“So we are being extremely cautious and that’s all I’d say about that,” Vance added.
The Vice President was travelling to Alaska to campaign for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, whom he described as “a really great guy, a Marine Corps veteran.”
Vance said Alaska’s political history made the Senate contest competitive regardless of the national political environment.
“In very deep red years alaska is competitive in very deep blue years alaska is still competitive,” he said.
He also acknowledged the state’s distinctive electoral system. “They obviously have the kind of weird ranked choice voting system that I don’t fully understand,” Vance said.
Alaska’s vast natural gas reserves have long generated interest in projects designed to move gas from the state’s North Slope to markets beyond the state. Asian economies have been viewed as important potential customers because of their demand for liquefied natural gas.
–IANS
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