--- title: 'Supply Chains as New Battlefields: Implications of Hormuz Crisis for Global Security & Pakistan' url: 'https://thediplomaticinsight.com/supply-chains-new-battlefields-hormuz-crisis/' author: 'Hadia Ahmad' date: '2026-06-06T14:44:28+05:00' categories: - 'OpEd' --- # Supply Chains as New Battlefields: Implications of Hormuz Crisis for Global Security & Pakistan Future conflicts and wars may not begin with bullets and bombs, but with the disruption of supply chains and trading routes. The key question is what really keeps the modern world state system running? Is it their economic power, their military might, their aircrafts? All these things matter but what truly matters the most is the uninterrupted movement of goods; fuel to run industries, food and medicines for people and raw materials to sustain the production in industries. Without this, statecraft can not be done successfully. Trade routes are the new trenches of this new battle. They can be used against others for increasing the cost. Countries are seeking more control on these supply chains and trading routes because they now look at them from a strategic point of view and see them as real geographical assets. The traditional tools of international relations: diplomacy, military, alliances matter but they are useless if you cannot secure your supply*.* Supply chains have always been of enormous importance in the history but now they can be used as weapons against each other. Today, your shipping containers hold the real power and they can be used to coerce governments, states, institutions and other stakeholders to do what they don’t want to do without using traditional military instruments. Any nation can be brought to its knees through these arteries and veins of trade because when the people of the state are dying of hunger and diseases due to shortage of food and medicines, a state can not stand for a longer time. **Read More: [Pakistan’s Energy Crisis in the Shadow of the Strait of Hormuz](https://thediplomaticinsight.com/pak-energy-crisis-shadow-of-hormuz/)** COVID-19 exposed the fragility of the global system of trade. It was scary how countries were struggling for medicines, food and basic essentials. Countries depended heavily on each other before COVID-19. There never was such a situation in which countries have to face this level of disruption and never they have thought about dealing this kind of scenario. They were highly unprepared when it came and the whole situation was very alarming for the policy makers. During that time, industries got shut down, ports got slowed, containers got stranded and supply chains got disrupted.  Industries, hospitals and people faced many issues due to the shortage of medical equipment, food and semi conductors. Even major powers struggled for masks, ventilators and medicines. In 2020, global marine trade fell by 7 to 10% just in first eight months. About $412 million were lost in trade value. 80% of the world trade was done through marine routes and when it got disrupted, economy of every country was affected. Researchers found that container activity has been reduced by 5.6% to 13.8% during that time period. When your shipping containers get delayed due to disruption in trading routes, it’s not solely the loss of money but of the power too. In the recent US-Iran conflict, this dynamic is visible in the Strait of Hormuz. Countries and states are not able to pass their containers through the Strait and are losing power over their supply.  About 20% of world’s oil passes through Strait of Hormuz. On daily average, before US-Iran conflict, it was handling about 20 to 21 million barrels of oil which is equal to 20% of global usage. Impact is not theoretical but real. Asian markets get nearly 90% of the whole oil trade from the strait of Hormuz that’s why markets of India, Japan, Thailand and South Korea are showing disruptions. China, India, Japan and South Korea receive about 75% of the oil passing from the Strait. Unlike states which are rich in energy resources, Pakistan can not afford any kind of disruptions in the maritime routes. Almost all sectors of Pakistan: industry, transportation, agriculture, electric power generation depends on imported fuel. Pakistan has faced many issues during COVID-19 and is again facing difficulties due to the crisis in Strait of Hormuz. For Pakistan, Hormuz is not just a trade route, it is the lifeline of the economy. Any disruption in trading routes especially in Strait of Hormuz can affect Pakistan very badly without even a single bullet fired. The consequences of crisis in Hormuz are not much apparent because of the efforts Pakistan is making for resolving the crisis and the attention of all the countries over those efforts. **Read More: [Chokepoints of Power: Middle East Conflict and the Battle for Global Trade Routes](https://thediplomaticinsight.com/chokepoints-of-power-battle-trade-routes/)** COVID-19 tells us how quickly all the infrastructure and system can get collapsed under crisis while Strait of Hormuz teaches us how even one point of the trajectory can influence the economic security of the region and ultimately give shocks to the global economic order*.* They both suggest that supply chains and trade routes are no longer mere structures of economy instead they have now become strategic assets and tools of power. The lesson for Pakistan and other countries is that the national power in the 21st century will depend on resilient supply chains, secured maritime access and holding of strategic reserves and it’s appreciable that the governing structures and institutions are paying attention to this which is especially seen in US-Iran conflict*. * In today’s world, if we search for the answer to the question: who really hold power then we will come to the conclusion that the one who controls the supply, controls the world. Many countries are already focusing on it and building policies and strategies to adapt to this kind of world, the real question is whether states are paying attention to it or not. And states have to pay attention because there is no other option for any of us to survive in the world of supply chains and trading routes turning into battlefields.       **The views presented in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Diplomatic Insight.*