BMJ 03 01 07
BMJ 03 01 07
Abstract
From ancient time explorers and military people travelled different lands for a living. In course of
time, this natural need institutionalised through trade and commerce. Complementary interest
rose through exchange mode of trade but contradictory condition developed with coercive
military might in pursuit of wealth. Explorers tried to look for a geographical shortest way to save
time and energy. Thereby the major geographical choke points of the world have become
significant both from geopolitical and geostrategic perspective. There are approximately 200
straits or canals around the world but only a handful are known as chokepoints. Chokepoints are
the strategic strait or canal which could be closed or blockaded to restrict energy flow or lifelines
of governing states. This type of geopolitical aggression could surely cause international
discontent. In 1982 Law of the Sea Convention further protected the international access for
nations to sail through straits or canals and ensured these passageways are available as aviation
routes for all nations. Hence the control over such geographical choke points and canals can
assure politico-economic relief for nations whose main energy flow or lifeline exclusively depends
on safe passage through geographical choke points.
Introduction
“…. for whosoever commands the sea, commands the trade, whosoever commands the trade of
the world commands the reaches of the world and consequently the world itself”
A 15th century English soldier, a qualified intelligence agent and later became British
politician Sir Walter Raleigh mentioned those lines on his autobiography published 200 years
after his death (Raleigh, 1829). Though Sun Tzu was the pioneer on the art of war strategy on
the battlefield, Sir Walter Raleigh was the pioneer to shift the focus of war more on economic
control through the sea. Later on, 18th century US Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan
supplements the concept of sea power of a nation with few credentials like; Geographical
1
MPhil Researcher, CHSR, Bangladesh University of Professionals
2
Assistant Professor, Business Faculty, Sylhet International University
3
Assistant Professor, Law Faculty, Uttara University
110 Control Over Maritime Chokepoints an Assurance of Secure Lifeline
Conceptual Framework
This paper is a geostrategic meta-analytic research where the concept of geographical
chokepoints was described in brief. major geographical chokepoints and man-made
chokepoints were also described with geographic maps along with strategic significance. The
power politics by the influential nation-state concentrated through geographical choke points
were also mentioned in the paper. The growing interest of influential nation state’s investment
on future manmade choke points and endeavour to dominate in international geopolitics were
figured out as an outcome of this paper. Finally, the impact on Bangladesh over maritime
politics of geographical choke points were discussed in brief as the future scope of study from
this paper. In this exploratory form of research methodology meta-analysis process was
adopted as it combines fact from multiple studies for a common outcome. Here multiple
geographical chokepoints both natural and man-made were discussed considering the
international maritime geopolitics evolving around them. Thereby global maritime choke
points were discussed briefly with future endeavour by power playing nations over choke
point, nation states and third-party State interest like Bangladesh were discussed in this paper.
Geographical Chokepoints
The world’s oceans account for nearly 90% of all international commerce. Straits are
geographical areas littered across the oceans near land masses that constrict the passage of
Figure-3: Global Oil transit Chokepoints and energy flow: million barrel/day-2016
(https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/regions-topics.php?RegionTopicID=WOTC )
112 Control Over Maritime Chokepoints an Assurance of Secure Lifeline
shipping to narrow passages. These geographical narrow passages are called chokepoints.
In 1982 UNCLOS II protected the international access for nations to safe passage through
straits and canals and even ensured that these passageways are available as the innocent
passage for aviation (Collins, 1998). These straits often serve as strategic chokepoints those
offer potential control of the world’s sea lanes of communication. As international shipping
lanes are forced to go through these specific vulnerable locations, they are often referred to as
the ‘Geographical Achilles heels of the global economy’. Many straits are in close proximity
to politically unstable nations, which increases navigation risks and compromises access and
use. These strategic passages can be mined, blocked by sinking ships or interdicted by naval
forces, artillery or missile systems (Jong, 2014).
Ho
Jazireh-ye
rmuz
of these chokepoints were Tonb-e Kuchek
(Lesser Tunb) Jazireh-ye
disrupted, ships would need to Tonb-e Bozorg
(Greater Tunb)
travel additional thousands of SEA LAN
E
Persian Gulf
miles to reach an alternate route. Abu
Oman
Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz is the
world's primary oil chokepoint.
According to the US Energy
Information Administration (EIA),
19 million barrels of oil,
representing 30% of all maritime-
traded petroleum passed through
the strait per day in 2015. Oil
from Saudi Arabia, the UAE,
Qatar, Iran and Iraq all pass
through the strait. These oil flow Figure-4: Global Oil flow in Hormuz Strait
head mostly towards Asia and (https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&authuser)
BMJ Vol 3 Issue 1 ISSN 2519-5972 113
tankers head west towards Suez Canal and the Red Sea.
The Strait of Hormuz is able to accommodate the largest oil tankers in the world. The mercury
of tension rising centring this strait as the US and its allied domination is often challenged by
Iran, China and Russia. Recent Qatar issue further tightened the situation of flow at Hormuz.
This is a 47 km strait between Bandar Abbas port of Iran and Kumzar island of Oman. British
SOLAS (Safety of Life At Sea) station at Al Jeer port of UAE and Safe energy traffic station
of US coalition forces established on Khasab port of Oman (Ramazani, 1979) raised the
mercury of tension much
higher than predicted. US
and UK maintain strong
military ties with Saudi
Arabia, Oman and UAE for
active control on the Strait of
Hormuz.
Strait of Malacca
The Strait of Malacca is the
shortest waterway which
connects the Indian Ocean to
the South China Sea and the
Pacific Ocean. In 2015, the
US Energy Information
Administration, EIA estimated
that 15.2 million barrels of
oil a day passed through the
strait, with the fuel from the
Middle East primarily
heading towards Indonesia,
China, and Japan. The Strait
of Malacca is also one of the
narrowest chokepoints in the
world. The narrowest point in
the strait is only 1.7 miles
wide, which creates a natural
Figure-5: Crude Oil flow through Malacca Strait
bottleneck for shipping. The (https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=10671)
Strait is 805 km (500 miles)
stretched between Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of
Sumatra. At Phillips Channel close to the south of Singapore, the Strait of Malacca narrows
to 2.8 km (1.5 nautical miles) wide, creating one of the world’s most significant traffic choke
point (Freeman, 2003).
It is named after the Empire of Melaka who ruled over the archipelago between 1414 to 1511.
From an economic and strategic perspective, the Strait of Malacca is one of the most
114 Control Over Maritime Chokepoints an Assurance of Secure Lifeline
oceans meet at the point where the warm-water current meets the cold-water current and turns
back on itself – a point that fluctuates between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point, about one
kilometre east of the Cape of Good Hope. When following the African coastline from the
equator, the Cape of Good Hope marks the psychologically important point where one begins
to travel more eastward than southward. Thus the first rounding of the cape in 1488 by
Portuguese explorer Bartolommeo Dias was a major milestone in the attempts by the
Portuguese to establish direct trade relations with the Far East (McKinnon, 2015).
The Cape of Good Hope
also functions as the
SUDAN SAUDI ARABIA
secondary route for oil if
the primary chokepoints
Al Ghaydah
of the Suez Canal or the ERITREA Massawa Sanaa YEMEN
Bab el-Mandab were Asmara
closed. According to the Al
Hudaydah Al Mukalla
US Energy Information
Administration, EIA ETHIOPIA
rerouting oil around the Gulf of Aden
Danish Straits
The Danish Straits formed out of a series of channels passing around the Danish Islands is
among the most secure oil chokepoints in the world. The chokepoint connects the Baltic Sea
in the east to the North Sea in the west. Approximately 3.3 million barrels of oil a day flowed
through the region in 2013. Despite rising tensions with Russia in Europe and particularly the
Baltics, shipping is unlikely to be affected by regional security issues. The EIA estimates that
116 Control Over Maritime Chokepoints an Assurance of Secure Lifeline
Grend
Helslngor
Aarthus Hersholm
DENMARK Copenhagen
Holbcek (GAC Denmark Main Office)
Kalundborg Kege Renne
Frederlcla Odense Korsor
Stigsnces BALTIC SEA
Esbjerg Nyborg
Svendborg
Aabend Nokskov
Redby Gedser
42% of all oil shipped through the Danish Straits originated from the Russian port of
Primorsk in 2013 to the West. A small amount of Norwegian and British oil also went through
the straits to the Baltics (Paul, 2010). If Russia ever blockaded the Strait, it would mostly just
be blockading its own oil trade as well.
Strait of Gibraltar
The name Gibraltar is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabaal Tariq, meaning
‘Mountain of Tariq’. It refers to the Rock of Gibraltar, which was named after the Umayyad
general Tariq ibn-Ziyad. An Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704 during
the War of the Spanish Successor on behalf of the Habsburg pretender to the Spanish throne.
The territory was subsequently ceded to Britain in perpetuity under the ‘Treaty of Utrecht’ in
BMJ Vol 3 Issue 1 ISSN 2519-5972 117
The
Under the Gibraltar constitution of
Gibraltar Harbour
Detached Mole Gibraltar
Governor’s Residence Catalan Bay
R o c k
2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs South
Sandy Bay
360080 N
Mole
such as defence and foreign relations St. Michael’s Caves Highest Point
1,394 ft (425m)
SPAIN Rosala Bay Fortress
remaining under the responsibility of Headquarters
the UK Government.
Little Bay
Europa Point
5 24 W
0 0
5 22 W
0 0
50200 W
Bosporus Strait
A strait of Bosporus/Turkish Straits is a 17-mile-long waterway with only 1 km wide, which
connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean Sea and supplies Western and Southern
Europe with oil from the Caspian Sea. The strait is made up of the Bosporus and Dardanelles
and divides Asia and Europe. The Bosporus joins the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and
the Dardanelles connects the Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean Sea. Straits of Bosporus
is the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation. The Straits are governed
under the Montreux Convention, which gives Turkey control over the Bosporus and the
Dardanelles. While Turkish maritime authorities have the right to levy tolls on the passing
tankers and are also responsible to check ships for sanitary conditions and safety (Cogliati,
2014), the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits are considered international waterways and
118 Control Over Maritime Chokepoints an Assurance of Secure Lifeline
Suez Canal
Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to
the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez. Constructed by the Suez Canal Company between
BMJ Vol 3 Issue 1 ISSN 2519-5972 119
1859 and 1869, it was officially opened on November 17, 1869. The canal offers watercraft a
shorter journey between the North Atlantic and northern Indian Oceans via the Mediterranean
and Red seas by avoiding the
South Atlantic and southern M
ED
Indian oceans, in turn ALARABIYA IT
ER
NEWS Port Said RA
reducing the journey by NEA
N SEA
approximately 7,000km
(4,300 miles). It extends The “New Suez Canal” is the name of the
from the northern terminus project in which a new lane was created to
run alongside part of the existing Suez
of Port Said to the southern Canal
main elements, the Gatun Locks (Atlantic Ocean access) the Gaillard Cut (continental divide)
and the Miraflores Locks (Pacific Ocean access). The Panama Canal connects the Pacific
Ocean to the Caribbean and ultimately to the Atlantic (McCullough, 2001). According to the
US Energy Information Administration EIA, the Panama Canal transported 1.4% of all oil and
petroleum products globally in 2013. This amounted to approximately 0.85 million barrels of
oil a day in 2013. The utility of the canal has waned in the years since it was built.
Today, the narrowest point of the Panama Canal is only 110 feet wide forcing larger
super-tankers to avoid the canal. The canal is undergoing an expansion project which should
enable larger tankers to pass through the region more easily. The USA will fund the expansion
project of the Panama Canal to ensure the safe passage of her Supertankers and Aircraft
Carriers. Political negotiation is underway to attain more benefit from Panama and early
completion of the development project by 2022 (Friar, 2016).
Kiel Canal
The Kiel canal built between 1887 and 1895, initially served German military needs by
eliminating the necessity for ships to travel northward around the Danish peninsula. It was
enlarged between 1907 and 1914 to accommodate large naval ships. Prior to World War I the
122 Control Over Maritime Chokepoints an Assurance of Secure Lifeline
canal (former Kaiser-Wilhelm Canal) was owned by the German government. The Treaty of
Versailles (June 28, 1919) laid down regulations, internationalised the canal and leaving it
under German administration. Traffic on the canal was subject only to general police,
shipping, sanitary and customs regulations. These provisions were rejected by Adolf Hitler in
1936. Since World War II the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles guaranteeing freedom of
navigation to be practised (Gollasch Stephan, 2006). The canal remains an important route for
Baltic shipping.
The canal has been enlarged twice and is today 160 metres (526 feet) wide and 11 metres (37
feet) deep and is spanned by seven high-level bridges that have about 43 metres (140 feet) of
clearance for ships beneath them. The locks are 45 metres (146 feet) wide by 327 metres
(1,072 feet) long. The canal constitutes the safest, most convenient, shortest and cheapest
shipping route between the North Sea and Baltic Sea (Sheffield, 2016). This canal gives the
quickest access route to all the rim nations of Baltic Sea like Poland, Lithuania, Latvia,
Estonia, Finland and Moscow.
BMJ Vol 3 Issue 1 ISSN 2519-5972 123
WEST
Mediterranean Sea BANK
GAZA
STRIP
Port Said
ISRAEL
Suez JORDAN
Canal
Cairo Port
Sinai
Suez Peninsula Eilat
(EGYPT)
er
f
Gulf
Riv
qaba
o z SAUDI
EGYPT S e
u
Nile
of A
ARABIA
Gulf
Sharm al
Shaikh
= Location of UNEF
(United Nations Straits
Emergency Forces) of
Tiran Red Sea
Strait of Tiran
The Straits of Tiran are the narrow sea passages between the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas
which separate the Gulf of Aqaba from the Red Sea. The distance between the two peninsulas
is about 13 km. After the 1956 war, Egypt agreed to reopen the Straits of Tiran for Israeli
shipping, whose closure had been a significant catalyst in advancing the Suez Crisis. It has
two passages deep enough to be navigable by larger ships. The Enterprise passage, 290
metres (950 feet) deep, is adjacent to the Egyptian side, while the 73 metres (240 feet) deep
Grafton passage, surrounded by shallows, is to the east, nearer to the island of Tiran
(Lapidoth, 1982). To the east of Tiran and Saudi Arabia, the other strait has reefs and shallows
with a single channel has 16 metres (52 feet) depth.
Access to Jordan's only seaport of Aqaba and to Israel's only Red Sea seaport of Eilat is
through the Gulf of Aqaba, which gives the Straits of Tiran strategic importance. In 1967,
90% of Israeli oil passed through the Straits of Tiran, making it a target of Egyptian blockade
during the Arab League boycott of Israel. In May 1967, Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol
repeated declarations that Israel had made in 1957, saying that closure of the Straits of Tiran
would be an act of war. Spiritually the route of Exodus gives this strait an added value to Jews
(Fritz, 2016), yet Israeli lifeline Strait of Tiran will be protected by her allies in the name of
Maritime security.
124 Control Over Maritime Chokepoints an Assurance of Secure Lifeline
Nicaragua Canal
GUATEMALA
This canal is the extended HONDURAS
reach of China’s string of
pearls which negotiates EL SALVADOR
Caribbean
Sea
with Nicaraguan govern- NICARAGUA
ment to have an
alternative manmade canal Managua Lake NICARGAUA CANAL
Nicaragua
other than the Panama Brito Punta Gorda
Canal. On 26 September
PANAMA CANAL
2012, the Nicaraguan PACIFIC COSTA
OCEAN RICA
Government and the Colon
newly formed Hong Kong Panama City
PANAMA
Nicaragua Canal COLOMBIA
Development Group
0 75 150
(HKND) signed a
MILES
memorandum of underst-
anding that committed
HKND to finance and The Nicaragua Canal and Maritime Routes
building the ‘Nicaraguan 100 km Length: 278km Length: 193-3km
Canal and Development NICARAGUA Width: 230-5200m Width: 280-345m
Depth: 22.5m
Project’. HKND Group is Managua Artificial lake
Depth: 27.6m-30m 16,600 ships in 2013
5,100 ships per year No locks
a private enterprise (Ellis, Lake Construction of a new
Nicaragua Construction period:
2016). The Nicaraguan Brito Punta
Dec-2014-2019
canal to double the waterway’s
capacity started on Aug 5
Gorda
Government subsequently NICARGAUA CANAL (PLAN) SUEZ CANAL
approved the Master
Main competing inter-ocean routes between Asia and the US
Concession Agreement By market share
with HKND on 13 June
2013 thereby granting 1%
‘The sole rights to the 61% Suez
Nicaragua
HKND Group to plan,
design, construct and US Intermodal System 38%
Panama
Sea Station
M
al
(Chumphon Port)
ac
ca
St
ra
M ALAYSIA
it
Khao Fa Chi Station
Kawthaung
Canal
Ranong Port
Kraburi River Gulf of Thailand I N D O N E S I A
Ranong Canal
Ranong is located 586 kilometres south of Bangkok and is the first southern province that is
located on the Andaman Sea. The narrowest part Ranong province of Thailand is only 44
kilometres which give explicit chance for any country to invest in manmade canals. China
showed interest in this project which may challenge and incapacitate the shipping flow of
Malacca Strait. If this canal is established after the hydrographic assessment, it will definitely
transform the economic posture of Thailand.
Thailand is seeking investments to build a Canal Zone through the provinces of Ranong and
Chumphon. This will shorten the trip from the Middle East by a couple of days by skipping
the strait of Malacca. International energy flow duration will be reduced by a day with
distance reduction of 2300 km toward China and East Asia (Graham, 2005). Japan is
interested but China is ready to invest and start the project by 2022 after political clearance
from China’s policy-making level.
questioned. In terms of foreign policy strategy, China is clearly adopting a ‘Look South’
policy, reflected through its heavy infrastructure investments in the countries around the Bay.
India is opting for a ‘Look East’ policy, to intensify connectivity to Southeast Asia and the US
with its Asia ‘Rebalancing’ strategy which shifts its focus from the Middle East to this
dynamic region (M H Kabir, 2015).
Geographically Bangladesh residing among world economic superpower’s like China and
India where politico-economic calculation seems tedious on conflicting and contradictory
interest. Considering Bangladesh under the ‘String of Pearls’ policy of China with their deep
sea port investment gave huge importance to Bangladesh in the global arena. Chinese interest
lies in the investment on Bangladesh’s plain fertile land and transit point to develop her
southern Sichuan province. On the other hand, India’s political influence on Bangladesh
assures transit facilities towards her eastern regional development at Tripura, Assam and
Mizoram. Internationally as a Muslim state and vibrant UN member state Bangladesh
maintains healthy foreign relation with global powers and middle east for safer and smooth
flow of petroleum through geographical choke points.
Conclusion
At the dawn of the 15th century, Sir Walter Raleigh recognised the strategic importance of
oceanic chokepoints for commercial trading vessels in times of peace and have enhanced the
military power of their occupiers in times of war. However, in course of time, structural
changes in the shipping industry have had significant consequences for strategic chokepoints,
especially the two great canals. Over the last 25 years, the real cost of sea transportation fell
by 80% because larger ships generated economies of scale, containerisation reduced labour
costs and information technology improved resource allocation. The rise of super tankers and
post-Panamax container ships has significantly diverted traffic from the Panama Canal and
has motivated the Egyptian government to approve a 10-year 441 million-dollar project to
widen and deepen the Suez Canal. The development of railway trans-shipment in Suez and
Panama and competition from rail and truck transportation in North America and Europe may
further undermine the commercial value of strategic waterways. Moreover, most products of
information industries cost very little to transport, even by aeroplane and sometimes can be
‘exported’ abroad via the internet.
Growing demand and squeezed supplies are unavoidable consequences of the geography of
petroleum production, distribution and consumption. The global economy is beginning to
realise the full extent of a growing shortage of oil and its inherent economic and geopolitical
costs. Current estimates place the peak of global oil production at around 2008-2010. In the
meantime, oil consumers are struggling to diversify their oil supplies, but most of the
remaining oil reserves are predominantly in the Middle East, a region which will remain the
focal point of global oil shipments. Although there is a current energy shift towards renewable
and environmentally-friendly resources, such as natural gas and eventually hydrogen, the
move from petroleum is likely decades away. Even a transition to natural gas, the reserves of
which are substantial, would be very costly since entirely new distribution infrastructures
would be required, including additional LNG carriers, terminals and processing facilities.
BMJ Vol 3 Issue 1 ISSN 2519-5972 127
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