Chokepoint

"Chokepoints play crucial roles and deserve careful consideration. This applies to various situations, ranging from individual circumstances to interactions among businesses, local and regional authorities, and especially rivalries between major powers.

In the latter case, these involve the control of supply chains, access to markets, infrastructure, trade routes, strategic locations and military mobility. The bulk of global trade and supply flows pass through maritime routes, as do military forces worldwide.

The critical chokepoints in the geopolitical context are the narrow sea passages, along with ports and their capacity limits. Establishing maritime bases near these narrow straits offers two key advantages: ensuring free passage for a country’s own vessels, and creating the potential to block adversaries."

Source: https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/geographic-chokepoints/