Chokepoints

El Canal de Suez, un cuello de botella que no te cuento

Son varias las acepciones posibles del términó inglés “chokepoint” en nuestra lengua: punto de estrangulación, cuello de botella, punto estrecho, etc. Veamos la definición del término, en inglés, que ofrece Wikipedia:

In military strategy, a choke point (or chokepoint) is a geographical feature on land such as a valley, defile or a bridge, or at sea such as a strait which an armed force is forced to pass, sometimes on a substantially narrower front, and therefore greatly decreasing its combat power, in order to reach its objective. A choke point can allow a numerically inferior defending force to successfully thwart a larger opponent if the attacker cannot bring superior numbers to bear.

Dicho esto, vayamos a la nota que, sobre los “chokepoints” petroleros, publica hoy Zero Hedge. Las figuras son tan ilustrativas que no hace falta explicarlas. Se habla de Yemen y otros "chokepoints":

Título: The World's Greatest Oil Chokepoints, And Why Yemen Matters

Texto: About half the world's oil production is moved by tankers on fixed maritime routes, according to Reuters. The blockage of a chokepoint, even temporarily, can lead to substantial increases in total energy costs and thus, these checkpoints are crucial to global energy security. While Hormuz remains the largest chokepoint (and along with Bab el-Mandeb explains why Yemen matters so much), Malacca (as we noted previously) is quickly becoming another area of potential problems.

And while Yemen is key for The Strait of Hormuz...

 With Bab el-Mandeb even more specifically problematic if Yemen tensions get too extreme...

...it is China's growing presence near The Strait of Malacca that is perhaps most worrisome for the global energy order...

and here's why...

The Claims...