Sea Lanes of Communication Analysis

Sea Lanes of Communication discovered and utilized during and after the Age of Enlightenment, are maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistic, and naval operations. A large portion of these sea lanes are located within or beyond straits, some of them being the most explosive and volatile areas in the world. A strait is a singular, narrow body of water joining two larger entities. Several straits will be discussed, all holding high international importance; The Middle-Eastern straits of Bab el-Mandeb and Hormuz, the Northwest Passage, the Strait of Malacca, the Mediterranean Dardanelle and Bosporus straits, and the South China Sea and Spratly Islands. Though not straits, the former are still prolific and share the same issues with the straits.

Bab el-Mandeb, Gate of Tears when translated to Arabic, separates the Asian and African continents by thirty kilometers. It is sandwiched between the nations of Djibouti to the southwest and Yemen to the Northeast. The strait itself is partitioned by the island of Perim, currently Yemeni territory. This splits the strait into a western corridor of about twenty-five kilometers and one to its opposite, only three kilometers in width. Yemen is known to harbor Al Qaeda and other less popular terrorist organizations, and African coastal nations are not strangers to terror and piracy. Al Qaeda ushered in the new century of terrorism when on 12 October 2000, a Yemeni dhow armed with explosives blew a thirty-six foot hole in the hull of the USS Cole, killing seventeen sailors.

The Strait of Hormuz, facing the Iranian and Omani/UAE coasts, is one of the most logistically important chokepoints. The strait is the only option open to Gulf States who export petroleum and other products. However, merchant mariners have been wary to travel through the strait, as Iranians are infamous for mining and blocking passage through the strait. The Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s is a fine example of how well the Iranians were able to close the strait off by means of emplacing mines and enforcing their blockade with armed vessels. Until intervention from the United States, Kuwaiti and other foreign merchant vessels were unable to sail through the strait to deliver their goods, and there were a few damaged civilian vessels within the conflict.

The Northwest Passage, though not a specifically dangerous area when compared to the latter two sea lanes, is as important. Located within the Arctic Circle and frozen over for a good portion of the year, the strait begins between the eastern Russians and Alaskan coast, and east through Canadian territory. There are three routes available to vessels, however all will eventually exit in a similar fashion. Pack ice does not permit regular travel through the strait, but because of climate change, passage may be more feasible without the assistance of icebreakers. Because the strait is located within Canadian waters, the Canadian government believes the nation may regulate fishing and environmental policy, as long as the regulation, restricting, and even possible taxation of passage through the strait. The United States, along with many other nations which highly benefit from usage of the strait totally disagree with the Canadian Parliament.

Plagued by years of colonization, brutal internal violence, and a propensity to raise and harbor potential pirates and terrorists, Indonesia and the surrounding oceanic nations are already unstable. The Strait of Malacca links the Indian Ocean to the Eastern Pacific, imperative for trade between China, India, Japan, Pakistan, and others, littoral or landlocked. According to the Energy Information Administration, the strait is one of the world's most important chokepoints when dealing with transportation of oil. Piracy has always been an issue within the strait, seeing as it is one of the quickest ways to make a living in the region. Southeastern Asian countries are currently making an effort at reporting and preventing piracy attacks within the strait. Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia actively contribute with military craft, both on sea and air.

The Turkish Straits, important to trade along the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, are effectively the gateway between Europe and near-eastern Asia, as far as trade is concerned. The two straits, the Dardanelles and Bosporus, are on opposite sides of a body of water known as the Sea of Marmara. The only way through is to pass through both straits. The Black Sea is nearly an internal sea, much like that of the Caspian, with the exception of these passages. The wider of the two, the Dardanelles is only a kilometer wide and nearly seventy kilometers long, whereas the Bosporus is a diminutive seven hundred meters wide and thirty kilometers long. The Dardanelles faces the Aegean to the west and the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus facing the eastern black Sea. Romania, Ukraine, Russia, and Caucasian countries rely on these sea lanes for trade. Though the Turkish are much tamer than their eastern relatives, conflicts between Turkey and Greece have always been an issue with the maritime industry.