Freedom of the seas: Shipping matters

 Austin Bey has an article about the Houthis and the issue of freedom of the seas.

So careful shipping companies divert and take the long route between Europe and the Indian Ocean, going south around Africa's Cape of Good Hope (South Africa). That route can add three weeks to transit time of a tanker sailing from Saudi Arabia to Rotterdam.

But he misses a few points: By blocking the Red sea entrance to the Suez canal they are hurting Egypt more than Israel... and by blocking shipping from the east (read China) they are adversely affecting the price of Chinese goods in Europe.

and then there is the danger of Chinese companies contracted to run the Panama canal. The dirty little secret is that all Chinese companies obey their government and could result in their closing down the canal, either by fiat or by a convenient accident...

Communist China values maritime chokepoints, economically and militarily. China's Panama Canal gambit is illustrative. The Chinese-owned company that owned port facilities on the Pacific and Atlantic ends of the canal recently sold its ports to an American-led investment group. Beijing is allegedly angry — has Beijing lost its ability to deny America use of the Canal? We shall see how this evolves since the Trump administration insists on canal security.

finally, not mentioned: The artificial islands in the West Philippine sea (put there because Obama refused to help president Aquino stop them, but insisted we take them to court, and although we won no one bothered to obey the court).

If China takes over Taiwan, that really gives China the ability to blcok shipping from Asia to the US.