The term chokepoint is a concept in strategic geography and economics, referring to a constrained geographical conduit, such as a narrow maritime passage or a key overland transport corridor, that concentrates the flow of vital global commodities. The concept originated in military strategy, where a chokepoint was a geographical feature like a valley or strait that an armed force was forced to pass through on a substantially narrowed front, allowing a numerically inferior defending force to use the terrain as a force multiplier. The importance of chokepoints was recognized by figures like British Admiral John Fisher from the 18th to the early 20th centuries, as the British Empire used them to control trade and for defense.
A chokepoint works by creating a bottleneck in the global supply chain, making the movement of goods, particularly energy supplies, highly vulnerable to disruption. Because a large share of global trade, with over 80 percent of global trade by weight moving by sea, passes through just a handful of these strategic passages, any blockage can cause rapid, widespread economic shocks. For example, the Strait of Hormuz, located between Iran and Oman, is considered the most critical energy chokepoint, with roughly 20% of global petroleum consumption passing through it daily. The Strait of Malacca, between Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, facilitates 30% of global trade and is crucial for East Asia's connectivity with the Middle East and Europe.
The concept connects directly to maritime security, global supply chains, and energy security. Related concepts include economic chokepoints, which are critical nodes where a single entity can exert disproportionate control, such as the dollar-based financial system used by the United States to impose financial sanctions. The strategic importance of chokepoints has not changed, but the risks have evolved recently to include not only geopolitical conflict and piracy but also environmental factors, as seen with the Panama Canal facing a severe drought that has temporarily reduced the number of transits. The Suez Canal was also recently affected by the 2021 blockage by the Ever Given ship and by attacks in the Red Sea in late 2023, forcing approximately 470 container vessels to re-route around Africa.