Straits of Malacca is a red herring. The strait is the shortest route from Persian Gulf to China. But there are other routes through Indonesia, or could take de

Straits of Malacca is a red herring. The strait is the shortest route from Persian Gulf to China. But there are other routes through Indonesia, or could take detour around Indonesia or even Australia. The US Navy can block anywhere. Also, there are supertankers bigger than Malaccamax, the largest ships than can use the strait. The Chinamax and Capesize ships are bigger.