News

Opinion

Editorials

Hormuz blockades test foundational principle of global commerce

Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa this week publicly pondered about ways states might charge ships passing through the Strait of Malacca, another large chokepoint

Much of India’s trade, and the world’s, flows through a handful of critical maritime chokepoints — the Strait of Hormuz, the Strait of Malacca, the Suez Canal, and the Bab al-Mandab.

3 min read Apr 25, 2026 07:02 AM IST First published on: Apr 25, 2026 at 07:02 AM IST

Few features of the global economy illustrate interdependence as clearly as maritime chokepoints. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has offered a stark demonstration of the risks that such narrow waterways pose to international trade. It also stirred talk of monetising these vulnerabilities, of turning chokepoints into instruments of financial leverage, by, for instance, levying transit tolls.…