The kidnapping theory is a very interesting one. Especially when you look at how far away Beijing is, and then draw a circle with the same size radius and look at the countries that are inside of that circle (as places that would use a similar amount of fuel to get to). Very interesting.
I was thinking the same when I read this earlier, but had an appointment we had to get to..

With knowing how corrupt some of the officials are in some of those countries, it wouldn't be too surprising.. (I am talking about some personal dealings with some customs officials in some of these nations through work).