Maritime corridors can turn into battlefields, Türkiye’s Fidan warns

Detailed summary

Turkish foreign minister says disruptions at maritime chokepoints can threaten economies thousands of kilometres away, warning of risks to global food and energy security.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has warned that “a maritime corridor can become a battlefield, a pipeline can become an instrument of pressure”, highlighting how insecurity along vital trade routes threatens economies far beyond conflict zones.

Speaking at the TRT World Forum on Saturday during the session “The New Geopolitics of Connectivity: Sea Lanes, Chokepoints, and Corridors”, Fidan said growing global connectivity had also exposed countries to disruptions at critical transit points.

“A single chokepoint can affect economies thousands of kilometres away. In such circumstances, connectivity itself can become a strategic concern,” he said.

Fidan said attacks on commercial vessels and disruptions to maritime trade were undermining regional stability and restricting the free flow of goods, with particularly serious consequences for countries already facing food insecurity.

Opening of the article, excerpted from TRT World. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.