Today’s world is connected more than ever when it comes to technology — the devices and systems we use to communicate in the modern world are beyond the imagination of the people in centuries past. However, the one aspect of our civilization that is arguably the most essential is also something as old as humanity itself — trade.

Today, almost anything used in our daily lives owes some aspect of it to a material or a component made somewhere else. From phones to cars, clothing to food, minerals to fuel and everything in between, our everyday items require either raw resources or processing in a foreign country before being used by us. This is our modern world of interconnectedness and the routes used for international trade are now more important than ever in global politics. However, there are strategic choke points which are under the threat of conflicts that can put the global economy in danger.

A very relevant example of conflict is in the Red Sea. Most people became aware of its importance after a container ship infamously got stuck in the Suez Canal and demonstrated how vital this sea passage truly is as the world economy suffered significantly from this brief incident. An enormous amount of goods and resources flow through the canal and it has historically been a crucial link between the East and the West ever since its opening more than 150 years ago. Currently, the escalation of conflict between Houthis in Yemen and the United States, which broke out due to the war in Palestine, is the biggest threat to trade reliant on this route as ships have reportedly been attacked with missiles and commandeered on several occasions by rebel forces. A coalition of United States-led nations are currently taking part in Operation Prosperity Guardian to counter this threat, yet the future of this route remains uncertain in the face of rising hostilities and the possibility of yet another war in the Middle East.

Another choke point in global trade is the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey. Being the only sea route between the Black Sea and the rest of the world, historically, it was and still is a hub of vital strategic importance. Though it does not get much attention, it still exists as one of the few linchpins of not only global trade, but also military strategy. The Montreux Convention of 1936 was created to protect the sovereignty of Turkey against foreign threats. Yet, in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine, there is a possibility the Turkish government may consider using the control of the strait as a weapon to exert diplomatic influence. Currently, Russia is the nation with the most significant strategic interests in the region as the strait is the only gateway through which its southern seaports can be accessed, consequently making the strait itself a key strategic target to have influence over. The “Grain Deal,” which ended last July, was a key step toward preventing military escalation — without any motivation to pursue such agreements in the future, the possibility of this region becoming the target of a geopolitical crisis remains likely.

And the third such region with strategic importance is the South China Sea, more specifically the Malacca Strait. Along with the Red Sea, it is one of the key places forming the link between Asia and the rest of the world by sea. Strategically, it is vital to both China, due to the “Maritime Silk Road,” as well as the United States, due to a link with what is known in military strategy as the First Island Chain. Rising political tensions due to the Taiwan issue and the United States-China rivalry poses a threat to the global economy as a potential conflict or even a mere incident affecting the trade through this region could have immediate and immense consequences for the global economy. This makes the region consequently the most vital of all geopolitical linchpins, which are important for global trade, and its future currently rests in the hands of the diplomatic strategies pursued by two major powers of the world.

These are only three of the many other important geographic points through which trade pass around the world — more than 11 billion tons of goods pass through these choke points and when combined, they represent an overwhelming majority of the yearly international trade around the world by sea. This makes them strategically important in politics and diplomacy too — it is in the interests of competing nations to have influence over these routes as international trade has become an indispensable tool for the national economies of our age.

Nations reliant on resources from abroad — Germany, China, Japan and, of course, the United States need such trade hubs, which is why their political strategies will evolve around ensuring the safety of their trade and, thus, preserving their economic interests. As a result, it is important to consider trade routes’ strategic value in regards to decisions made by governments as well as international relations. As international disputes escalate into conflicts more and more frequently, these choke points are the theaters where such conflicts carry the potential to ignite another major conflict between nations around the world.

Deniz Gulay is a freshman majoring in history.