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

AsiaAs Hormuz crisis rattles the world, eyes are on another key waterwayThe Strait of Malacca carries more than a quarter of global trade, including most of the oil that flows from the Persian Gulf to key Asian markets.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Ships and oil tankers in the Strait of Malacca, off the coast of Singapore.Rex Wholster / Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 16, 2026, 7:44 AM EDTBy Mithil AggarwalHONG 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. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“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. Goods from China are heavily reliant on the strait, which links the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean via the South China Sea, but it also serves as the primary energy lifeline for U.S. allies such as South Korea, Japan and the Philippines, making control of the waterway crucial in any future U.S.-China conflict.For decades, the U.S. has maintained a strong naval presence across the region, with the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet having played an active role during several wars in Asia, including in Korea and Vietnam. Its constant presence has long irked leaders in China, whose own navy has undergone rapid modernization and is now the largest in the world.With the two global superpowers in proximity to the strait, the question is whether a Hormuz-style showdown coul...