The tensions over the South Pacific islands are part of a new battle over strategic chokepoints, and show how Washington is concerned that China’s quiet approaches to these key locations could alter the geopolitical landscape.
Other chokepoints raised by U.S. officials in recent weeks include the Panama Canal, the 82-km waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and the Argentinian port of Ushuaia, located on the southernmost point of South America and a key gateway to Antarctica.
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