The Future Maritime Operating Environment and the Role of Naval Power

3.4.1 Chokepoints
The existence of maritime chokepoints—the Strait of Gibraltar, the Straits of Malacca, Singapore,
Bab al-Mandab, the Suez Canal, the Turkish Straits, the Straits of Hormuz, the Greenland-Iceland,
United Kingdom (GIUK) Gap and the Panama Canal—has always been important in the strategic
calculations of maritime Powers. Closures of such important waterways, however, have generally
only ever happened in wartime when one combatant Power prevented another from using an
important waterway (e.g., Gibraltar and the Suez Canal in the Second World War). 122 In the
globalised world economy, such waterways have become ever more important for their
contribution to shipping routes. Today, for example, 30 percent of all trade passes and 80 percent
of all China’s and Japan’s oil imports move through the Straits of Malacca. 123 The viability of at
least two of the largest economies is, therefore, dependent on unrestricted passage through a
narrow channel of seawater.
The location of many of the chokepoints is a significant maritime consideration. Some are found
in areas where political instability is the norm, or where the possibility of armed conflict is real.
In the case of the Straits of Malacca, the waterway is relatively shallow that at some points
requires regular dredging—with the consequence that natural or man-made obstruction is, if not
likely, at least made easier should there ever be an intent to do so. 124 More generally, restricted or
blocked access to any maritime chokepoint would impact the global economy, particularly with
regard to the trade in energy resources. 125 Even the threat of a blockage can have a cascading
impact on global markets, as happened in 2011 when Iran threatened to block the Straits of
Hormuz to dissuade the EU from imposing economic sanctions. 126 Such an action would likely
call forth a strong (perhaps an armed) response from the traditional maritime Powers, as well as a
growing number of countries whose economies are dependent on maritime trade.
3.4.2 Ports as Hubs
One author has written that “[b]ecause of their function and strategic locations, the viability and
productiveness of ports can have a significant economic impact on their surrounding region.” 127
The largest ports have been transformed by globalisation into critical maritime infrastructure for
the world economy. They have become hubs in a worldwide supply chain. One study of global
ship movements noted in this regard that “[t]here are a few large, highly connected ports through
which all smaller ports transact their trade.” 128 And the links might not be so obvious. More than
50 percent of the containers arriving in Montreal is coming to or leaving the US market; and
much of what arrives in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, is destined for the US via the
122 Rodrigue, The Geography of Transport Systems (3 rd ed), p. 32.
123 Ray Griggs, “A Maritime School of Strategic Thought for Australia”, in Justin Jones (ed.), A Maritime
School of Strategic Thought for Australia (SeaPower Centre: Canberra, Australia, 2013), p. 14.
124 Rodrigue, The Geography of Transport Systems (3 rd ed), p. 38.
125 See Charles Emmerson and Paul Stevens, “Maritime Choke Points and the Global Energy System”,
Chatham House Briefing Paper, January 2012.
126 David Blair, “Iran threatens to close Strait of Hormuz over EU oil sanctions”, The Daily Telegraph,
23 January 2012.
127 Michael C. Ircha, “Ports and Shipping Security”, Proceedings, 46 th Canadian Transportation Research
Forum, Gatineau, June 2011 [accessed on 17 July 2014 at
www.ctrf.ca/conferences/2011Gatineau/2011Proceedings/11IrchaPortSecurity.pdf], p. 2.
128 Kaluza et al., “The complex network of global cargo ship movements”, p. 1095.
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