Anonymous #1 3d

So it’s essentially the Hormuz of the Pacific, 1/4 of global maritime trade and 80% of Chinese energy imports flow directly through it. The major Chinese concern is that the U.S. navy could blockade and control it during a conflict, which China doesn’t possess the naval or missile capabilities to disrupt. It’s been a major factor in the Belt and Road Initiative, with China trying to diversify their import routes to varying success

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Anonymous OP 3d

I see. What would the US gain from blockading it? I assume other countries besides China would respond, and I also don’t think the US would be able to financially handle blockading a passage they directly benefit from. Like, Iran has nothing to lose with Hormuz, so I struggle to see the US choosing to blockade a passage they benefit from

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Anonymous #1 3d

As I said tho I know very very little lol, this is all me just spitballing with my very limited knowledge and I’d love to understand more and learn more :)

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Anonymous #1 3d

Like Iran, the U.S. could determine who’s allowed to transit, and quite frankly there’s no country on earth with the naval capacities to even try and get in the US’s way in which a scenario.

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Anonymous #1 3d

Essentially we’d determine the extent of the economic pressure, and focus the punishment on china while not causing problems for other countries. Hu Jintao talked about it in 2003 if you’re interested in reading more

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Anonymous #1 3d

No yeah absolutely, it’s definitely not talked about as much as something like Hormuz but it’s a big focus of China

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Anonymous OP 3d

I see, thanks so much for sharing! I truly don’t know, but it seems like it would be SUPER bad if anyone fucked with the Strait of malacca rn

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Anonymous #1 3d

Yeah jut to be clear it’s not some silver bullet for the U.S. to achieve perfect victory over China. But it’s a big issue and something that could definitely expand a Taiwan conflict further

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Anonymous OP 3d

Tbh I’m shocked a Taiwan conflict hasn’t exploded yet

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Anonymous #1 3d

It’ll take the PLA a while before they’re ready. An invasion of Taiwan would be the single most difficult and complex operation in modern military history, and the Chinese have no way of knowing if we’d intervene, and failure would possibly mean the end of communist party rule, or at the very minimum a MASSIVE global economic crisis. I do believe it’ll happen someday, but not within the immediate future

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