1.2 Geostrategic importance of Maritime trade routes and EEzs

Maritime chokepoint

A narrow sea passage through which disproportionately large shares of global maritime trade must navigate, because they lack viable alternatives. They concentrate the flows of goods, energy and information that sustain the global economy. These passages carry enormous strategic and economic weight because of their indispensability and their vulnerability

Why do maritime chokepoints carry enormous strategic and economci weight?

Any disruption, wether caused by conflict, accident, piracy or political crisis, can delay international trade raise transport costs and threaten global energy supplies.

What are the world’s principal five chokepoints?

Together, these five passages form the structural skeleton of global maritime trade. Their geographic concentration means that disruption to any one of them can send shockwaves through the entire global economy.

• The suez canal

• The Panama canal

• The straight of Malacca

• The straight of Hormuz

• Bab el-Mandeb

The suez Canal

Opened in 1869, it links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, providing the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia. Around 12-15% of global trade passes through it annually, including significant volumes of oil, LNG and containerised goods.

The Panama canal

In panama. Connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, enabling ships to avoid the long and hazardous journey around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America. Expanded in 2016 to accommodate larger vessels (Neo-Panamax ships), it handles around 5% of global trade.

The straight of Malacca

between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore): One of the world's busiest shipping lanes, connecting the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean. Around 25% of global trade passes through it, including a significant share of the oil and goods bound for China, Japan and South Korea.

The straight of Hormuz

between Oman and Iran): The world's most critical oil chokepoint, through which approximately one-fifth of global oil consumption and around 20-25% of LNG passes daily. Its closure, even briefly, would trigger an immediate global energy

crisis.

Bab el-Mandeb

between Yemen, Djibouti and Eritrea): Links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, providing the southern approach to the Suez Canal. It is a vital transit point for Europe-Asia trade and an increasingly contested geopolitical flashpoint.

Why are the 5 main chokepoints so important?

form the structural skeleton of global maritime trade. Their geographic concentration means that disruption to any one of them can send shockwaves through the entire global economy.

What is a consequence of the fact that global trade is concentrated along a small number of sea routes passing through a handful of narrow passages?

maritime transport is structurally vulnerable to disruption. Several categories of threat illustrate this:

• Piracy : remains a persistent threat in certain regions. Used to be in the waters off the horn of africa, now it’s in the gulf of guinea off west Africa and remains a risk in the straight of Malacca

• Terrorism : may target vessels, ports or maritime infrastructure

• Armed conflicts : can destabilise entire regions of maritime space, driving up insurance premiums (war risk surcharges), forcing rerouting and increasing costs for shipping companies and, ultimately, consumers.

• Accidents and blockages :  can have cascading global consequences

Ex of piracy

The waters off the Horn of Africa (particularly around Somalia) saw a surge of attacks in the 2000s-2010s, before being brought under control through coordinated international naval patrols.

Ex of terrorism

The 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in the port of Aden illustrated the vulnerability of even military ships in confined waters.

Ex of armed conflicts

In February 2026, the conflict between the United States and Iran led to the closure of the strait of Hormuz.

Ex of accidents and blockages

In March 2021, the ultra-large container ship Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal and blocked it for six days. Hundreds of vessels were stranded, and the disruption to global supply chains cost an estimated $9-10 billion per day in delayed trade.

Ex that illustrates how a localized geopolitical conflicts can immediately restructured global flows/ maritime strategic transport is strcturally vulnerable Because global trade is concentrated along a small number of sea routes passing through a handful of narrow passages

The Houthi crisis in the Red Sea (from late 2023): Following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict, Yemen's Houthi rebels began launching drone and missile attacks against commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea. By early 2024, many major shipping companies had suspended Suez Canal transits entirely, rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope adding approximately 10-14 days and significant fuel costs to Europe-Asia journeys.

What is a consequence of the fact that maritime routes are essential for trade, energy supply and national security?

states invest heavily in their ability to protect, influence and if necessary control them.

What are the main strategies employed by states to protect, influence and control maritime routes?

• Maintaining powerful blue-water navies capable of securing trade routes across distant seas and projecting military power

• Establishing overseas military bases near strategic chokepoints

• Defending freedom of navigation the principle enshrined in UNCLOS that commercial and military vessels have the right to pass through international waters without interference.

• International anti-piracy cooperation

Ex of the strategy of maintaining powerful bleu water navies

The United States Navy, with its network of carrier strike groups, has historically served as the guarantor of freedom of navigation in international waters, a role increasingly contested by China.

Ex strategy of establishing overseas military bases near strategic chokepoints

• The United States operates bases in Bahrain (close to the Strait of Hormuz) and Djibouti (near Bab el-Mandeb).

• China opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti in 2017, a significant marker of its growing maritime ambitions.

• France also maintains a naval base in Djibouti, reflecting its historical presence in the region.

Ex strategy of defending freedom of navigation

The United States regularly conducts Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) in the South China Sea, where China's territorial claims are disputed by several neighbouring states.

Ex strategy of anti-piracy cooperation

the EU's Operation Atalanta in the Gulf of Aden, or the Combined Maritime Forces coalition operating across the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.

What countries are particularly in geopolitical comeptition over strategic maritime routes?

the United States and China, whose rivalry is partly played out across the Indo-Pacific maritime space.

EEZs

An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a maritime zone established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted in 1982 and now ratified by over 160 states. It extends up to 200 nautical miles (approximately 370 km) from a coastal state's baseline (the low-

water line along the coast).

What rights does a state have in it’s EEZ? What about other states

Within its EEZ, a coastal state does not exercise full sovereignty the waters remain international but it holds sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve and manage all natural resources found in the water column, on the seabed and beneath the seabed. Other states retain the right to navigate freely, fly over the zone and lay submarine cables and pipelines.

Why do EEZs matter so much?

EEZs matter enormously for economic development because they grant exclusive access to a range of valuable resources (fishery and biomass, energy and mineral) . Today, EEZs collectively cover around one-third of the world's oceans and generate an estimated $3 trillion in economic activity annually. Their importance is only growing as demand for marine resources intensifies.

Why are EEZ increasingly contested?

the resources they contain are essential not only for economic growth but for the energy transition, the global shift away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy and advanced technologies that depend on rare minerals.

(ex) What country illustrates how EEZs translate into global influence?

France. It possesses the second largest EEZ in the world, covering more than 11 million km2, larger than the entire African continent. This vast maritime area is almost entirely the result of France's overseas territories, scattered across the Caribbean , the Pacific , the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean.

What does france’s EEZ provide? + Ex

• Access to major fishing grounds across multiple ocean basins

• Offshore energy resources, including oil and gas fields (notably off the coast of French Guiana) and significant potential for offshore wind and tidal energy co2

• Exceptional marine biodiversity, including some of the world's most important coral ecosystems (particularly in the Pacific and Indian Ocean territories)

• A global naval and strategic presence, allowing France to maintain military assets and project power across several oceans simultaneously

What reinforces the maritime reach of France and it’s status as a genuine maritime power?

France's powerful navy (the Marine nationale), its network of strategic overseas ports and the presence of CMA CGM, one of the world's three largest container shipping companies.

What is a consequence of the fact that EEZs confer exclusive rights over potentially enormous wealth?

they frequently generate disputes between neighbouring or overlapping states particularly where maritime boundaries are contested, where islands of uncertain status generate competing claims, or where resources are concentrated in a shared area

ex What illustrates how EEZs become geopolitical flashpoints/ the fact that EEZs frequently generate disputes between neighbouring or overlapping states particularly where maritime boundaries are contested, where islands of uncertain status generate competing claims, or where resources are concentrated in a shared area/ a broader pattern : wherever EEZs overlap, wherever islands generate competing claims and wherever resources or strategic routes are concentrated, the result is a volatile mix of international law, resource competition and military posturing.

The South China Sea. China claims sovereign rights over almost the entire sea through its Nine-Dash Line, a boundary that appears on Chinese maps but has no basis in UNCLOS. This claim directly overlaps with the legally recognised EEZs of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, and has been unanimously rejected by an international arbitration tribunal in 2016 (the Philippines v. China case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration). China refused to recognise the ruling

What are the most disputed areas in the south China Sea?

• The Spratley Islands a scattered archipelago claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan

• The Paracel Islands occupied by China since 1974 (following a military confrontation with South Vietnam), but also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan

What are the multiple stakes driving the disputes over the South China Sea?

• Rich fishing grounds, on which millions of people in Southeast Asia depend for food and livelihoods

• Potential hydrocarbon reserves - estimated at billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic metres of gas, though precise figures remain uncertain

• Critical maritime trade routes - around $3-5 trillion worth of global trade passes through the South China Sea annually

• Military and strategic control - China has constructed artificial islands and installed military facilities (airstrips, radar systems, missile batteries) on several contested reefs, transforming the sea into a zone of military projection

What countries inteviene in the South China Sea disputes?

The United States, which is not a party to the territorial disputes but has treaty obligations with the Philippines and a strategic interest in freedom of navigation, conducts regular Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) to challenge China's excessive claims. Several European countries, including France and the United Kingdom, have also sent warships through the area in recent years.

How isi climate change transforming the antlantic? What are the (potential) consequences?

Climate change is causing the rapid melting of Arctic sea ice. The Arctic is warming three to four times faster than the global average, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. As a result, navigation is becoming possible for longer periods each year, and new maritime routes are emerging that could significantly reshape global trade geography

What are the three new/imagine trade routes in the Arctic?

• The Northern Sea Route NSR

• The Northwest Passage NWP

• The transpolar Route

The Northern Sea Route (NSR)

follows the Russian Arctic coast, linking northern Europe to East Asia. It is currently the most developed of the three routes, used by an increasing number of vessels each year, though transit still requires icebreaker escort for much of the year

The Northwest Passage (NWP)

crosses the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans along the northern coast of North America. Its legal status is contested. Canada considers it internal waters, while the United States and most maritime nations regard it as an international strait

The Transpolar Route

 a future route crossing directly over the central Arctic Ocean, expected to become viable only if summer sea ice disappears entirely, a scenario that some climate models project before 2050

What are the potential advantages of arctic routes?

• Reducing the shipping distance between Europe and East Asia by up to 40% compared to the Suez Canal route min

• Lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per voyage anciens

• Shorter delivery times, with potential savings of 10-15 days on Europe-Asia journeys

• Improved access to Arctic ports and natural resources

What are potential constraints of arctic sea routes? (They remain significant)

• Persistent sea ice for much of the year, requiring costly icebreaker vessels or escorts 

• Extreme and unpredictable weather conditions 

• High insurance premiums and operating costs

• A near-total absence of ports, rescue services and emergency infrastructure along most of the routes

• The extreme fragility of Arctic marine ecosystems, which are highly sensitive to oil spills and pollution

What is a result of these changes in the arctic, the potential avantages of those sea routes, and constraints? + Illustrative numbers and Ex

Arctic shipping is growing but remains marginal. In 2023, around 2,500 vessels used the Northern Sea Route, impressive growth compared to a decade ago, but still negligible compared to the approximately 20,000 ships that transit the Suez Canal annually. Arctic routes cannot yet substitute for traditional chokepoints.

Besides shipping, why is the Arctic attracting intense international interest?

because of the natural resources that climate change is making increasingly accessible

What is the Arctic region throught to contain?

• Significant oil and natural gas reserves according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the Arctic may hold around 13% of the world's undiscovered oil and 30% of its undiscovered natural gas.

• Rare earth elements and strategic minerals including cobalt, nickel and zinc that are critical for batteries, electronics and renewable energy technologies

• Major fishing grounds, which are expanding northward as waters warm, attracting fishing fleets from Russia, Norway, Iceland and increasingly China and South Korea