The breakwater stretches out to sea from the sprawling Kaohsiung port in southern Taiwan. Normally, it¡¯s crowded with massive tankers ferrying liquefied natural gas from Qatar to be stored in the bulbous white tanks that dot the shoreline.
These are not normal times, though, and not a single shipment from Qatar has docked at the Yongan terminal since early March after the Strait of Hormuz was shuttered.
The suspension has provided a realistic preview of a potential Chinese blockade, a move that would throttle an economy anchored by the world¡¯s most advanced and power-hungry semiconductor industry. It is a stark reminder of the energy dependency and constant threat facing the democratically governed island, which Beijing views as its territory and has vowed to eventually claim ¡ª by force if necessary.
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