The Suez Canal has been a lifeline for global commerce and for military power-projection since its inauguration in 1869.
The Suez Canal has been a lifeline for global commerce and for military power-projection since its inauguration in 1869. For nearly a century, it was the Royal Navy’s vital link to most of the British Empire. Today, it remains a critical enabler of U.S. naval power, increasing the on-station time of American warships and their responsiveness to emerging crises.
Over the last several decades, U.S. Navy use of the canal has become a matter of routine, uninterrupted by occasional turmoil in Egypt and wider regional conflagrations. But increasing instability in the Sinai could threaten this routine, a possibility the Navy should recognize and prepare for.