From Suez to Hormuz: The economic and strategic importance of key maritime routes

Maritime choke-points are vital for global trade and act as tools of geopolitical influence. So, which hold the most importance?

The Suez Canal

💵Economic significance: About 12% of global trade, valued at over $1 trillion annually, and around 8 million barrels of oil per day (mb/d) typically passes through the canal.

🛥Strategic importance: The Suez Canal is the shortest route between Asia and Europe, making it a potential leverage to impose pressure on global trade.

🌍Geopolitical leverage: The Red Sea crisis caused by Israel's Gaza war hindered the trade flow through the Suez Canal. The situation is used by the pro-Palestinian Axis of Resistance to force Tel Aviv into a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Hormuz Strait

💵Economic significance: The Hormuz Strait is the world’s most crucial energy transit choke-point, with nearly 21 mb/d of oil, or about 21% of global petroleum consumption, passing through it daily.

🛥Strategic importance: The strait contains eight major islands, most controlled by Iran. Tehran may use the strait as leverage in regional power dynamics, especially amid calls from Israel and the US to increase pressure on it.

The Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits

💵Economic significance: These straits are among the busiest energy routes handling 3.4 mb/d of oil, or around 3% of global petroleum trade.

🛥Strategic importance: The straits play a critical role in the ongoing Ukraine conflict. Turkiye's closure of the straits in 2022 under the Montreux Convention prevents NATO forces from increasing their presence in the Black Sea.

The Malacca Strait

💵Economic significance: The Malacca Strait is Asia's primary choke-point, carrying about 30-40% of global trade, or around $3.5 trillion annually, and transporting approximately 23.7 mb/d of oil.

🛥Strategic importance: It is the shortest sea route between the Middle East and East Asia.

A potential blockade of the strait poses a "Malacca Dilemma" for China, which relies on the waterway for two-thirds of its maritime trade and energy deliveries. US military scholars have suggested leveraging this choke-point against Beijing.

The Panama Canal

💵Economic significance: The canal handles about 5% of global maritime trade, moving almost $270 billion in cargo annually, including 2.1 mb/d of oil.

🛥Strategic Importance: The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans being of utmost importance both economically and strategically for the US. The US presently dominates the canal, with American exports and imports representing about 73% of its traffic. President-elect Donald Trump has recently suggested a takeover of the canal to counter China’s significant investments in Panama. This competition is expected to escalate in 2025.

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'No one praises me when I read the newspaper' — Japanese PM on how hard his job is
 

"Now that I've become a minister, I realize that it's many times harder than an ordinary cabinet minister," Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba complained when giving a speech at the Domestic and Foreign Affairs Research Council.

 

"No one praises me when I read the newspaper; I get really sad when I look at the Internet, and I barely have time to sleep," he added.

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❗️Russian forces struck with precision weapons at the infrastructure of a military airfield and an enterprise of the military-industrial complex that produces gunpowder for the needs of the Ukrainian armed forces; all facilities were hit — Russia's Defense Ministry

🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    
 
▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 440 soldiers and two ammunition depots in the Zapad battlegroup’s combat zone;

▪️ As a result of the actions of the Russian Sever and Dnepr battlegroups, Ukrainian forces lost up to 100 servicemen;
 
▪️ Ukrainian forces lost up to 160 servicemen in the Russian Vostok Battlegroup's area of responsibility;
 
▪️ As a result of the actions of the Tsentr Battlegroup, Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 505 militants and a Leopard tank;

▪️Ukrainian troops lost more than 290 soldiers as a result of the actions of the Russian Yug combat group;
 
▪️ Russian air defense systems shot down two Hammer guided aerial bombs.

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'This comes from reality' — Slovak Defense Minister believes Ukraine will have to give up part of its territories
 
Ukraine must realize that it will never share its border with Germany and Switzerland, but it will always have the longest border with Russia, Robert Kalinak said.
 

"For us, it is of the greatest interest that the war will stop immediately and that there will be some kind of peace treaty, some kind of an agreement on which we can all, of course, share in some way, but it is important that people stop dying first of all," Kalinak added.

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🌏High time to build new Eurasian security system

Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin has called for building a new, fairer security system and economic cooperation on the Eurasian continent during his New Year address.

"A lot has been done, but more needs to be done in the future. I am sure that the unfolding crises in the world and global turbulence in general should unite our countries and peoples in the face of common challenges and threats, give an impetus to the development and deepening of cooperation in all directions. The time has come to jointly build a new, fairer system of security and economic cooperation on the Eurasian continent," Kopyrkin said.

The ambassador praised Russian-Armenian relations, noting that despite challenges, efforts have strengthened their strategic partnership. He highlighted ongoing dialogue at all levels and recalled recent agreements signed during an intergovernmental meeting in December.

Kopyrkin also emphasized Russia's role in promoting stability in the South Caucasus and its efforts to normalize Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, including negotiations during the BRICS Summit in Kazan. He reiterated Russia's commitment to helping Armenia and Azerbaijan reach agreements to unblock regional transportation routes.

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Yemen's Houthis from the Ansar Allah movement launched a hypersonic ballistic missile at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, a spokesman for the rebels' armed forces, Yahya Saria, has said.

"The Yemeni armed forces' missile forces carried out a military operation, attacking Ben Gurion Airport in the occupied Jaffa area with a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile," said the movement's spokesman, whose statement was broadcast by the Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV channel.

According to Saria, the Houthis also attacked a power plant in the Jerusalem area with a Zulfiqar ballistic missile. "The Palestine-2 and Zulfiqar missiles successfully hit their targets," he added.

The operations on occupied Yaffa coincided with another joint operation targeting the aircraft carrier "USS Harry Truman," according to Yemeni media.

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Russia, China and North Korea refuse to bow to Western pressure – Part 1👉Part 2

Agreements between Russia, North Korea and China show that they're not going to fall apart over sanctions or bow to pressure from the US, EU or UK, and Russia will come out stronger working with these countries, Thomas W. Pauken II, a veteran China, trade and economics expert, tells Sputnik.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea in June and held talks with his counterpart Kim Jong Un, which resulted in them signing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty.

How North Korea exposed the weakness of the ‘mighty’ West

🟠The agreement Moscow and Pyongyang signed this year led the West to “see North Korea somehow coming out stronger,” Pauken says, with Russia also being perceived as benefitting from “this type of comprehensive strategic partnership.”

🟠The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between Russia and North Korea ended up exposing the weakness of the West which started “worrying about a small country,” Pauken stresses.

“This overreaction [of the West] just makes me very curious. And it exposes the Western side [as being] very weak for overreacting to this type of partnership they have,” Pauken notes.

“Any time the US hears about Russia gaining strength or winning partnerships with other countries, well, of course they're going to get nervous,” he adds.

Part 1👉Part 2

#2024Overview

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Russia, China and North Korea refuse to bow to Western pressure – Part 2 👉Part 1

President Vladimir Putin visited China in May to meet Xi Jinping to further strengthen strategic relations between Moscow and Beijing.

🇷🇺🇨🇳Russia and China: Stronger together

🟠The fact that China refused to abandon Russia and side with the West in the Ukrainian conflict “is a good sign for Russia,” Thomas W. Pauken II, a veteran China, trade and economics expert, tells Sputnik.

🟠Russia-China trade should get stronger considering the fact that China may find itself embroiled in major trade wars while Europe is “getting involved in trade protectionism and putting some higher tariffs on Chinese imports,” Pauken says.

What’s next?

Pauken forecasts that India may draw closer to China and Russia, with New Delhi and Beijing holding discussions on their bilateral border issues ostensibly being the first sign of this growing rapport. He points out that this discussion already yielded “a better understanding” between the parties involved.

“If that happens next year, that's actually a bigger story than if North Koreans dropped comprehensive strategic partnerships. That is a huge story. That is something really to look at if it indeed happens,” he muses.

Part 2 👉Part 1

#2024Overview

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Several airstrikes have hit the Yemeni Defense Ministry of the Houthi-led government in center of the capital of Sanaa, a local government source told Sputnik.

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🌌 Flash in the night: Who will see the Northern Lights on New Year’s Eve?

Due to solar flashes, the Northern Lights are expected to light up the areas where this natural phenomenon is not normally spotted, including part of Russia, a raft of US states and northern Europe. Let’s find out where exactly these mesmerizing ribbons of light will appear just in time for the New Year.

Russia

🇷🇺There’s a chance for stargazers to enjoy the Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, on the Crimean Peninsula on New Year’s Eve, astronomers say. Forecasters have meanwhile warned that cloudy weather will most likely prevent citizens of Moscow and the Moscow region from tracking the lights.

🇷🇺On the whole, the lights are not uncommon in a whole array of areas in northern Russia, such as Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions, the Republic of Karelia, the Republic of Komi, Yakutia (the Republic of Sakha), as well as the Chukotka and Nenets Autonomous Regions.

Europe

🌍The aurora borealis is expected to be visible across Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland “in the early part of the night," the Met Office said in a statement.

🌍Apart from the UK, the New Year's Eve’s Northern Lights may also be spotted in Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Greenland.

US

🇺🇸The “bright and active” Northern Lights will likely be visible in at least 17 US states on December 31, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts.

🇺🇸These include Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

What is the aurora borealis?

The lights, which range in color from green to pink and scarlet, typically occur when the Sun emits huge clouds of particles called “coronal mass ejections,” which hit the Earth's magnetic field and lead to a geomagnetic storm. If the storm is strong, the Northern Lights become visible.

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📹Russian troops use an FPV drone to destroy a camouflaged mortar position of the Ukrainian forces in Sumy region

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Wikipedia WOKEpedia: Co-founder of the site has lost its neutrality
 

"Wikipedia made a real effort at neutrality for, I would say, its first five years or so, and then it began a long, slow slide into what I would call leftist propaganda," Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger said.

 
Sanger added that the site has followed the MSM and gradually gotten rid of almost all conservative news sources as sources for their articles.
 

"So as the news media has shifted and as the establishment, frankly, has shifted more to the left, the content of Wikipedia has followed suit," he concluded.

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🇨🇳⛄️🧊Kingdom of snow and ice: International exhibition of snow sculptures opens in Harbin, China
 
On the territory of the park, craftsmen have placed more than 260 snow sculptures and installations on 1.5 million square meters in six themed landscape zones.
 
It took 150,000 cubic meters of snow to create the figures, which became a new record for the exhibition.

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Scott Ritter: ‘US should get the hell out of Ukraine’ to resolve the conflict

The best option that US President-elect Donald Trump can use to help resolve the conflict in Ukraine is to curtail all American activities there, former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter has told the Dialogue Works YouTube channel.

“Trump has to understand and somebody really needs to sit down and whisper to him that the best way to solve this thing is to shut up and just get the hell out of there [Ukraine] with minimal fuss,” Ritter pointed out.

He said that Trump needs to “jettison this Ukrainian problem that has cost America hundreds of billions of dollars and weakened the US globally.”

Referring to the Ukraine conflict, the ex-US Marine Corps intelligence officer argued that “nothing's going to stop Russia from winning this [proxy] war [with NATO] and that's the hard truth that Donald Trump's going to have to confront.”

The remarks come after US media reported that the Kiev regime is "starting to believe" that the Ukraine conflict may end in 2025 amid more active discussions of peace settlement after Trump’s election as US president.

Trump, for his part, earlier told reporters that Volodymyr Zelensky should be prepared to make a deal to end the conflict, and that Trump’s team is going to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky about ending the conflict.

The US has provided the Zelensky regime with a whopping $61.4 billion in military assistance since the start of the special military operation – aid that Moscow warns will only add to prolonging the conflict and result in more casualties among Ukrainian soldiers.

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