That's not an effective reply to GP because during the process GP describes ("Massive economic growth -> . . .") Japan has enjoyed complete freedom to engage in ocean shipping and ocean trade unless perhaps you want to argue that the knowledge that this freedom to trade could stop at any time (e.g., because of a new world war) prevented Japanese decision makers from making full use of ocean trade.

Also, China would not have been able to rise anywhere near as high as it has without intensive use of ocean trade.

In other words, although national economic independence matters a lot, it matters only in specialized circumstances, namely, war that is not restricted to only a few countries, but rather spreads to cover large areas of ocean; Washington's deciding to stop policing the world ocean; or Washington's deciding to stop enforcing a policy of freedom of shipping and freedom of ocean trade for every nation (modulo US sanctions).

The US cannot sanction China's shipping of goods.