Part of the rationale for acquiring nuclear-powered subs is to counter China’s growing military influence. But the US navy still remains much more powerful than China’s.
A Russian warship, the Patrol Ship Dmitry Rogachev, travels through the Dardanelles on Feb. 15, 2022.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits gives Turkey control over the water route between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Mason in the Suez Canal on Oct. 20, 2016, days after missiles were aimed at it from rebel-held areas of Yemen.
(U.S. Navy handout)