Interesting, if maybe questionable. The author assumes that all of the non-Chinese trade through the South China Sea could take routes around it - is this the c

Interesting, if maybe questionable. The author assumes that all of the non-Chinese trade through the South China Sea could take routes around it - is this the case? Even if it is, if we were to allow even partial blockage, wouldn't that also encourage China and any other regional actors to block anything else they felt like blocking? And if it isn't, what's the economic effect of halting that trade entirely? Particularly on smaller nations in the area whose economies may be more heavily based on sea trade.