In the framework of returning of History, we see now on mainstream a new discussion of world chokepoints, which is also very old and fundamental pillar of classic Geopolitics, a mental product of admirals of talassocratic powers, mainly United Kingdom and then United States. Maham before and then Spike, both US Admirals grounded Geopolitics on the Maritime Ring, opposite of British Mackinder, focused on terrestrial strategies and heartland concepts. But these theoretical geographic approaches were copying from the UK of Queen Victoria times strategy, which was rooted on chokepoints military control with His Majesty fleet. So Gibraltar, Suez excavation, Singapore, the Channel have been the roots of British Empire, the most enduring Empire of modern times. Nothing new, but quite forgotten during Globalisation, illusion of total openness to commercial exchanges and focusing of economic ties among nations. We tried to present here a table of the main chokepoints in the world, classified in Tiers according to their strategic weight.
| MAIN CHOKEPOINTS | LOCATIONS | TRAFFIC | MAIN COMMERCIAL RISKS |
| STRATEGIC WEIGHT IN TIERS | |||
| Chokepoint | Littoral States | Strategic Function | Traffic (approx.) | Key Vulnerabilities | Strategic Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strait of Hormuz | Iran, Oman (UAE/Saudi hinterland) | Main global oil & LNG artery | ~20–21 million b/d oil (~20% global), ~20% LNG | Military escalation (Iran), mining, missile threats | Tier 1 (Global Critical) |
| Strait of Malacca & Singapore | Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore | Main Indo-Pacific trade corridor | ~23 million b/d oil (~29% maritime oil trade), massive container flow | Piracy, congestion, geopolitical blockade | Tier 1 (Global Critical) |
| Bab el-Mandeb | Yemen, Djibouti, Eritrea | Access to Red Sea & Suez | Key Europe–Asia trade route | Regional conflict, non-state actors, maritime attacks | Tier 1 (Global Critical) |
| Suez Canal System | Egypt | Europe–Asia shortcut | ~12–15% global trade; fluctuating oil flows (~5–9 million b/d historically) | Political instability, blockages, asymmetric threats | Tier 1 (Global Critical) |
| Taiwan Strait | China, Taiwan | East Asia trade & semiconductor corridor | ~$2.4–2.5 trillion trade annually (~20% global maritime trade) | US–China conflict risk, military escalation | Tier 1 (Global Critical) |
| Turkish Straits (Bosporus & Dardanelles) | Turkey | Black Sea–Mediterranean gateway | ~80,000+ ships/year | Legal constraints (Montreux), regional war (Ukraine/Russia) | Tier 2 (High Strategic) |
| Danish Straits | Denmark, Sweden | Baltic–North Sea energy corridor | ~4.5–5 million b/d oil (~6% global maritime trade) | NATO–Russia tension, narrow passages | Tier 2 (High Strategic) |
| Panama Canal | Panama | Atlantic–Pacific connector | ~10,000 ships/year | Climate (drought), capacity limits | Tier 2 (High Strategic) |
| Strait of Gibraltar | Spain, Morocco, UK (Gibraltar) | Atlantic–Mediterranean gateway | High multi-directional traffic | Military chokepoint, migration, naval control | Tier 2 (High Strategic) |
| Strait of Dover (Pas de Calais) | UK, France | Core intra-European trade route | One of world’s busiest sea lanes | Congestion, security, political frictions (Brexit) | Tier 3 (Regional Critical) |
| Sunda Strait | Indonesia | Alternative to Malacca | Moderate traffic | Shallow waters, limited capacity | Tier 3 (Alternative Route) |
| Lombok & Makassar Straits | Indonesia | Deep-water alternative routes | Increasing use for large vessels | Strategic competition in Indo-Pacific | Tier 3 (Alternative Route) |
| Bering Strait | USA, R |
- Energy chokepoints dominate strategy: Hormuz and Malacca alone control a massive share of global oil and LNG flows.
- Systemic interdependence: Bab el-Mandeb + Suez operate as a single strategic corridor.
- Asia-centric vulnerability: Malacca and Taiwan Strait are critical for China, Japan, and South Korea.
- Legal chokepoints matter: Turkish Straits show how treaties (Montreux Convention) shape military access.
- Climate is now geopolitics: Panama demonstrates how environmental constraints directly affect global trade.
- Redundancy routes exist but are weaker: Sunda and Lombok provide alternatives but cannot replace Malacca at scale.
- Future shift northward: Bering and Arctic routes may gain relevance in medium term.
This is a short review of the main critical chokepoints, but many others can be considered, for example the Danish chokepoints, a true key to Baltic Sea, a cash cow for Denmark and covering at the moment 6% 9f world traffic, but in perspective with wars and Arctic Routes growing of strategic weight. Or other obliger crosspoint like Cape Town area and Magellan passage. A critical analysis of Supply Chain of a firm should be done from this point of view.
