Clayton Swope
During the conflict in the Middle East, Iran has exploited its location next to a transit corridor vital to international commerce and energy markets, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz to international maritime traffic. To achieve this feat, Iran neither established sea control nor air superiority over the strait; instead, it applied a relatively small amount of force—and the threat of using more—to achieve its goals. A nation applying this playbook to outer space could produce equally consequential results. Similar to transit rights through the strait, all nations have the right to freely use space—a right that is perhaps taken for granted. Unlike the Strait of Hormuz, all countries border space and, with the right technology, can threaten it. Nearly 80 percent of all operational satellites orbit less than 800 km from the Earth’s surface, a distance within reach of many ballistic missiles. The fact that space is under threat has been known for years. The lesson on display in the Strait of Hormuz is that disruption can be achieved and sustained without having domain superiority, and that, once disrupted, it is hard to return things to the old normal.
Although the Strait of Hormuz is located in the territorial waters of both Oman and Iran, it is recognized under customary international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as an international strait, which means ships from any nation are guaranteed the right of transit passage. All nations enjoy similar rights to send spacecraft through outer space.
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