The purpose of this paper is to analyze China’s geopolitical strategy in the Strait of Hormuz using secondary data of the topic and the concept of Natural Resources War. The Strait is very important to all the importing oil countries from Middle East including China as the only way in and out. At the same time, the Strait is also vulnerable with any kind of attacks that become challenge and threat to all the countries. It is the United States (US) as the one and only superpower which guarantee the security of the Strait and all the ships from importing oil countries. Recently with a lot of issues occurred in the region, the US seemed to be overwhelmed and asked every country to protect their own ships. With the status of one of the superpower countries and the power of its economy, China should be able to have the same role as the US. This paper contends that the lack of power of China’s military, dependence on the US security and Iran conflict with the US are the reasons why China is not showing some significant roles in Middle East related to its geopolitical strategy specifically in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz lies between the Persian Gulf and the Oman Gulf and is the only sea route connecting the Arabian Sea to the Indian Ocean. It is a trading route that strategically brings energy from the Middle East to many countries worldwide. Accordingly, the United States (US) and Iran have shared interests in the strait and play a central role in maintaining its stability. Unfortunately, since 1979, the US and Iran have been involved in a conflict. The tensions between the two peaked after the US left the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which specifically discussed the Iran nuclear deal. As a result, the security of the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted by various Iranian attacks on merchant ships and Iran’s threats to close the strait. This study explains the impact of the US-Iran conflictual relations on the strait’s stability. It uses the concepts of conflict of interest and maritime security with a qualitative research method and case studies based on primary and secondary data. This article concludes that although the US and Iran have common interests, their conflictual relations have disrupted maritime stability and affected the supply and world oil prices. Keywords: United States, Iran, Shared Interest, Strait of Hormuz Selat Hormuz yang terletak di antara Teluk Persia dan Teluk Oman merupakan satu-satunya jalur menuju Laut Arab dan Samudra Hindia. Selat ini bernilai srategis karena menjadi jalur perdagangan yang membawa energi dari kawasan Timur Tengah ke berbagai negara di seluruh dunia. Karena nilai strategis tersebut, Amerika Serikat (AS) dan Iran sama-sama berkepentingan terhadap selat Hormuz dan berusaha memainkan peran sentral dalam menjaga stabilitas keamanan selat tersebut. Sayangnya, sejak tahun 1979, AS-Iran berkonflik dan ketegangan di antara keduanya memuncak paska AS keluar dari Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) yang membahas khusus kesepakatan nuklir Iran. Akibatnya, keamanan Selat Hormuz terganggu dengan berbagai serangan Iran terhadap kapal dagang milik negara-negara pengguna Selat Hormuz dan ancaman Iran untuk menutup Selat Hormuz. Oleh karenanya, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan dampak konflik AS-Iran terhadap stabilitas dan keamanan Selat Hormuz. Penelitian ini menggunakan konsep benturan kepentingan dan keamanan maritim dengan metode penelitian kualitatif berupa studi kasus berbasis data primer dan sekunder. Dari data yang diperoleh, penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa walaupun AS dan Iran memiliki kepentingan yang sama, namun hubungan konfliktual di antara mereka telah mengakibatkan stabilitas keamanan maritim di kawasan terganggu dan mempengaruhi pasokan serta harga minyak dunia. Kata-kata kunci: Amerika Serikat, Iran, Kepentingan Bersama, Selat Hormuz
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