China deploys three warships to escort oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy deployed three guided-missile destroyers to the Gulf of Oman with orders to escort Chinese-flagged oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. It is the first time Beijing has projected naval power into the Persian Gulf for commercial protection. The move follows Lloyd’s decision to triple war risk premiums and the growing number of operators refusing uninsured Hormuz transits. The U.S. Fifth Fleet, already stretched thin, now shares the waterway with a rival navy. Two nuclear powers escorting oil tankers through a 21-mile strait while the country that controls both shores demands crypto tolls. This is what the end of the petrodollar looks like in physical form.