Blockade?

My latest at the Diplomat riffs off Gabriel Collins’ Naval War College Review article on a distant energy blockade against China:

Gabriel Collins has evaluated the prospects for a distant oil blockade against China in a new article at the Naval War College Review, and isn’t terribly optimistic. Building on an earlier article, Collins runs through the tactical and operational aspects of a distant blockade against China. Interdicting maritime shipments of oil would be tricky, given that many other countries in the region depend on the same sea lanes as China. The U.S. Navy would need to interdict terminals in the Indian Ocean, as well as the South China Sea. American warships might need to sink or seize neutral-flagged tankers, an action certain to have political consequences.