As Hormuz crisis rattles the world, eyes are on another key waterway

As the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz drags on, guardians of another critical waterway are worried about the precedent it sets for any future clash between the United States and China.

HONG KONG — As the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz drags on, guardians of another critical waterway are worried about the precedent it sets for any future clash between the United States and China.

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“If they go to war in the Pacific, what you are witnessing now in the Strait of Hormuz is just a dry run,” Singaporean Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said last month.

Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia all flank the Strait of Malacca — a waterway roughly five times longer and 10 times narrower than the Strait of Hormuz at its tightest point. It carries more than a quarter of global trade, including most of the oil that flows from the Persian Gulf to key Asian markets.