Also, the robotaxi has been live for all of a day and there’s already footage of it driving on the wrong side of the road: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s-h0YXtF0c&t=420s

Yes, the one that has only managed to sink or capture 4 ships over their 2 year campaign. Compare that with the Somali pirates that captured 100+ ships during their peak in 2010-2011.

The only possible way they have to close the strait is by mining it. Anything else would be open to air attack and about as effective as the Houthis, which is to say not very.

Nevermind that if they allowed through any shipments, it would defeat the entire purpose of closing the Strait. Oil is fungible and will be resold if a profit can be made, as we’ve already seen with the Russian sanctions.

China gets to not have oil shortages. They’re far more dependent on the middle east for oil. The US has been self sufficient when it comes to oil for almost a decade.