strait of Malacca

The name "Malacca" is traditionally associated with the Malacca tree (Phyllanthus emblica), also known as the Indian gooseberry tree, and is believed to derive from the local Malay word "Melaka". According to historical traditions, Parameswara, a Sumatran prince and the founder of the Malacca Sultanate, selected the site for his new kingdom where the city of Malacca now stands. It is said that he named the location "Melaka" after the Malacca tree under which he had rested. Over time, the name "Malacca" came to refer not only to the city but also to the strategically significant waterway between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, known as the Malacca Strait.{{cite web|url=http://www.frim.gov.my/the-legendary-melaka-tree/|title=The legendary Malaka tree|publisher=Forest Research Institute, Malaysia|date=25 April 2014|access-date=27 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927035804/http://www.frim.gov.my/the-legendary-melaka-tree/|archive-date=27 September 2015|url-status=dead}}

The International Hydrographic Organization define the limits of the Strait of Malacca as follows:{{cite book|url=http://epic.awi.de/29772/1/IHO1953a.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas|edition= 3rd|year=1953|publisher=International Hydrographic Organization|page=23|access-date=2018-12-03}}

File:Detroit Malacca OHI.png

{{blockquote|

On the west. A line joining Pedropunt, the northernmost point of Sumatra ({{Coord|5|40|N|95|26|E|display=inline}}), and Lem Voalan, the southern extremity of Goh Puket [Phromthep Cape on Phuket Island] in Siam [Thailand] ({{Coord|7|45|N|98|18|E|display=inline}}).

On the east. A line joining Tanjong Piai (Bulus), the southern extremity of the Malay Peninsula ({{Coord|1|16|N|103|31|E|display=inline}}), and The Brothers ({{Coord|1|11.5|N|103|21|E|display=inline}}), and thence to Klein Karimoen ({{Coord|1|10|N|103|23.5|E|display=inline}}).

On the north. The southwestern coast of the Malay Peninsula.

On the south. The northeastern coast of Sumatra as far to the eastward as Tanjong Kedabu ({{Coord|1|06|N|102|58|E|display=inline}}), thence to Klein Karimoen.}}

{{more citations needed|date=March 2017}}

File:melaka-strait.jpg of Malacca, Malaysia. Besar Island ('Big Island') is visible in the distance.]]

Early traders from Arabia, Africa, Persia, and southern India reached Kedah before arriving at Guangzhou. Kedah served as a western port on the Malay Peninsula. They traded glassware, camphor, cotton goods, brocades, ivory, sandalwood, perfume, and precious stones. These traders sailed to Kedah via the monsoon winds between June and November. They returned between December and May. Kedah provided accommodations, porters, small vessels, bamboo rafts, elephants, as well as tax collections for goods to be transported overland toward eastern ports of the Malay Peninsula such as Langkasuka and Kelantan. After the tenth century, ships from China began to trade at these eastern trading posts and ports. Kedah and Funan were famous ports throughout the 6th century, before shipping began to use the Strait of Malacca itself as a trade route.

In the 7th century, the maritime empire of Srivijaya, based in Palembang, Sumatra, rose to power, and its influence expanded to the Malay Peninsula and Java. The empire gained effective control of two major choke points in maritime Southeast Asia: the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait. By launching a series of conquests and raids on potential rival ports on both sides of the strait, Srivijaya ensured its economic and military domination in the region, which lasted about 700 years. Srivijaya gained great benefits from the lucrative spice trade, e.g. the tributary trade system with China, and trade with Indian and Arab merchants. The Strait of Malacca became an important maritime trade route between India and China. The importance of the Strait of Malacca in global trade networks continued well into later centuries with the rise of the Malacca Sultanate in the 15th century, the Johor Sultanate, the Straits Settlements, and the modern city-state of Singapore.

Since the 17th century, the strait has been the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Various major regional powers have managed the straits during different historical periods.{{Cite journal |last=Pineda |first=Guillermo |year=2012 |title=The Strait of Malacca as one of the most important geopolitical regions for the People's Republic of China |url=https://www.academia.edu/1931497 |journal=Academia.edu|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130180635/http://www.academia.edu/1931497/The_Strait_of_Malacca_as_one_of_the_most_important_geopolitical_regions_for_the_People_s_Republic_of_China |archive-date=2017-01-30}}

File:Ship on the Strait of Malacca from Bukit Melawati.jpg in Kuala Selangor.]]

From an economic and strategic perspective, the Strait of Malacca is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.

The strait is the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, linking major Asian economies such as India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. The Strait of Malacca is part of the Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast towards the southern tip of India to Mombasa, from there through the Red Sea via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.Marcus Hernig: Die Renaissance der Seidenstraße (2018) pp 112.{{Cite web|last=Mantoan|first=Benedetta|date=2019|title=The Maritime Silk Road in South-East Asia.|url=https://www.southworld.net/the-maritime-silk-road-in-south-east-asia/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=www.southworld.net|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Sutton|first=H. I.|date=8 July 2020|title=Could The Indian Navy Strangle China's Lifeline In The Malacca Strait?|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hisutton/2020/07/08/could-the-indian-navy-strangle-chinas-lifeline-in-the-malacca-strait/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=Forbes|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2019-03-30|title=Can Singapore's shipping hub survive China's Maritime Silk Road?|url=https://supplychainasia.org/can-singapores-shipping-hub-survive-chinas-maritime-silk-road/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=Supply Chain Asia|language=en-US}} Over 94,000 vessels[http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/08/200981993714453320.html Ships collide off Malaysian coast]. Aljazeera.net. 19 August 2009. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605224726/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2009/08/200981993714453320.html|date=2011-06-05}} {{in lang|en}} pass through the strait each year (2008) making it the busiest strait in the world,[http://www.eia.gov/countries/analysisbriefs/World_Oil_Transit_Chokepoints/wotc.pdf Strait of Malacca - World Oil Transit Chokepoints] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141122053242/http://www.eia.gov/countries/analysisbriefs/World_Oil_Transit_Chokepoints/wotc.pdf |date=2014-11-22 }}, Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy carrying about 25% of the world's traded goods, including oil, Chinese manufactured products, coal, palm oil and Indonesian coffee.{{cite book |last= Freeman |first= Donald B. |title= The Straits of Malacca: Gateway or Gauntlet? |year= 2003 |publisher= McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn= 0-7735-2515-7}}. A book review citing this information can be found at [http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/university_of_toronto_quarterly/v074/74.1roosa.html University of Toronto Quarterly, Volume 74, Number 1, Winter 2004/5, pp. 528-530] About a quarter of all oil carried by sea passes through the strait, mainly from Persian Gulf suppliers to Asian markets. In 2007, an estimated 13.7 million barrels per day were transported through the strait, increasing to an estimated 15.2 million barrels per day in 2011. In addition, it is also one of the world's most congested shipping choke points because it narrows to only 2.8 km (1.5 nautical miles) wide at the Phillip Channel (close to southern Singapore).{{cite web|date=2014|title=World Oil Transit Chokepoints|url=http://www.eia.gov/countries/analysisbriefs/World_Oil_Transit_Chokepoints/wotc.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141122053242/http://www.eia.gov/countries/analysisbriefs/World_Oil_Transit_Chokepoints/wotc.pdf|archive-date=22 November 2014|access-date=28 April 2018|website=www.eia.gov|publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)}}

The draught of some of the world's largest ships (mostly oil tankers) exceeds the Strait's minimum depth of {{convert|25|m|ft}}. This shallow point occurs in the Singapore Strait. The maximum size of a vessel that can pass through the Strait is referred to as the Malaccamax. The next closest passageway to the east, the Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java, is even shallower and narrower, meaning that ships exceeding the Malaccamax must detour a few thousand nautical miles and use the Lombok Strait, Makassar Strait, Sibutu Passage, and Mindoro Strait instead.

The strategic significance of the strait has led to security concerns for major trading nations, particularly China. In 2003, Chinese president Hu Jintao coined the term "Malacca dilemma" to describe China's vulnerability to potential disruptions in energy supplies transiting the strait. With roughly 80% of China's imported crude oil passing through this narrow maritime corridor, Chinese policymakers have identified the strait as a critical chokepoint. The concept has since influenced China’s foreign policy, leading to investments in alternative energy routes and maritime security initiatives.{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Shaofeng |title=China's Self-Extrication from the “Malacca Dilemma” and Implications |journal=International Journal of China Studies |date=February 2010 |volume=1 |pages=1-24}}{{cite journal |ref={{sfnref|Akram|2019}}|last1=Akram |first1=Qudsia |last2=Fareed |first2=Munaza |title=China's Malacca Dilemma: Power Politics in Indian Ocean |journal=Journal of Politics and International Studies |date=2019 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=29-44}}

{{See also|Piracy in the Strait of Malacca}}

Piracy has been a problem in the strait. Piracy had been high in the 2000s, with additional increase after the events of September 11, 2001.{{Cite journal|last=Raymond|first=Catherine|year=2009|title=PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY IN THE MALACCA STRAIT: A Problem Solved?|journal=Naval War College Review|volume=62|pages=31–42|via=Proquest}} After attacks rose again in the first half of 2004, regional navies stepped up their patrols of the area in July 2004. Subsequently, attacks on ships in the Strait of Malacca dropped, to 79 in 2005 and 50 in 2006.[http://www.joc.com/maritime-news/piracy-down-3rd-year-row-imb-report_20070122.html Piracy down 3rd year in row: IMB report] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217221649/https://www.joc.com/maritime-news/piracy-down-3rd-year-row-imb-report_20070122.html |date=2013-12-17 }}, Journal of Commerce Online, January 23, 2007 Attacks have dropped to near zero in recent years.{{cite web|date=21 April 2011|title=Drastic drop in piracy in Malacca Straits|url=http://maritimesecurity.asia/free-2/piracy-2/drastic-drop-in-piracy-in-malacca-straits/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107012031/http://maritimesecurity.asia/free-2/piracy-2/drastic-drop-in-piracy-in-malacca-straits/|archive-date=7 November 2017|access-date=28 April 2018|website=maritimesecurity.asia}}

There are 34 shipwrecks, some dating to the 1880s, in the local TSS channel (the channel for commercial ships under the global Traffic Separation Scheme). These pose a collision hazard in the narrow and shallow strait.{{cite web|last=Ali|first=Sharidan Mohd Ali|date=2 January 2006|title=34 wrecks in sealane threaten passing ships|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/1/2/maritime/12941448&sec=maritime|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012073905/http://thestar.com.my:80/news/story.asp?file=/2006/1/2/maritime/12941448&sec=maritime|archive-date=12 October 2008|access-date=28 April 2018|website=thestar.com.my}}

On 20 August 2017, the United States Navy destroyer {{USS|John S. McCain|DDG-56|6}} lost ten of its crew's lives in a collision with the merchant ship Alnic MC a short distance east of the strait whilst full steering capabilities had been lost. The ship had made a series of errors in attempted mitigation, its external lights being changed to "red over red" ("vessel not under command").{{cite web|url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=102034|title=UPDATE: USS John S. McCain Collides with Merchant Ship|first=This story was written by U.S. 7th Fleet Public|last=Affairs|website=navy.mil|access-date=28 April 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105081658/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=102034|archive-date=5 November 2017}}

Image:Malaysian Haze 2005 Aerosol Index.jpg from the smoke of raging bush fires, limiting visibility.]]

Another risk is the annual haze due to wildfires in Sumatra, Indonesia. It may reduce visibility to {{convert|200|m}}, forcing ships to slow in the busy strait. The strait is frequently used by List of largest container ships.{{cite book |last1=Nachmani |first1=Amikam |title=Turkey: facing a new millennium: Coping with Intertwined Conflicts (Europe in Change) |date=November 8, 2003 |publisher=Manchester University Press |location=Manchester, United Kingdom |isbn=9780719063701 }}

{{further|Thai Canal}}

Thailand has developed plans to divert much of the strait's traffic and hence some of its economic significance to a shorter route: the Thai government has several times proposed cutting a canal through the Isthmus of Kra, saving around {{convert|960|km|mi}} from the journey between the two oceans. China has offered to cover the costs, according to a report leaked to The Washington Times in 2004. Nevertheless, and despite the support of several Thai politicians, the prohibitive financial and ecological costs suggest that the canal will not be built.

An alternative is to install a pipeline across the Isthmus of Kra to carry oil to ships waiting on the other side. Proponents calculate it would cut the cost of oil delivery to Asia by about $0.50/barrel ($3/m³). Myanmar has also made a similar pipeline proposal.

; Geostrategic context

• Andaman and Nicobar Command
• Andaman Sea
• Bay of Bengal
• Exclusive economic zone of Indonesia
• Exclusive economic zone of Malaysia
• Exclusive economic zone of Thailand
• Exclusive economic zone of India

; Local context

• Malacca City
• Malaccamax
• Lingga Roads
• Malacca Strait Bridge
• George Town, Penang
• History of Kedah
• Kedah Sultanate
• Action of 10 September 1782
• Battle of Penang
• Action of 13 November 1943
• Action of 11 January 1944
• Action of 14 February 1944
• Action of 17 July 1944
• Battle of the Malacca Strait
• Mangroves of the Straits of Malacca
• Piracy in the Strait of Malacca

{{Reflist}}

• Borschberg, Peter, [https://www.academia.edu/4302722 The Singapore and Melaka Straits: Violence, Security and Diplomacy in the 17th Century] (Singapore and Leiden: NUS Press and KITLV Press, 2010).
• Borschberg, Peter, ed., [https://www.academia.edu/4302708 Iberians in the Singapore-Melaka Area and Adjacent Regions] (16th to 18th Century) (Wiesbaden and Lisbon: Harrassowitz and Fundação Oriente, 2004).
• Borschberg, Peter, ed. [https://www.academia.edu/4302722 The Memoirs and Memorials of Jacques de Coutre. Security, Trade and Society in 17th Century Southeast Asia] (Singapore: NUS Press, 2013).
• Borschberg, Peter, ed., [https://www.academia.edu/4302783 Journal, Memorials and Letters of Cornelis Matelieff de Jonge. Security, Diplomacy and Commerce in 17th Century Southeast Asia] (Singapore: NUS Press, 2015).
• Borschberg, Peter, "The value of Admiral Matelieff's writings for the history of Southeast Asia, c. 1600–1620", Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 48(3), pp. 414–435. {{doi|10.1017/S002246341700056X}}
• Borschberg P. and M. Krieger, ed., [https://www.academia.edu/4311610 Water and State in Asia and Europe] (New Delhi: Manohar, 2008).

{{Commons category|Strait of Malacca}}

{{Library resources box

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• [http://www.eia.gov/countries/analysisbriefs/World_Oil_Transit_Chokepoints/wotc.pdf World oil transit chokepoints]
• [http://www.nbr.org/publications/element.aspx?id=467 Maritime Security in Southeast Asia: U.S., Japanese, Regional, and Industry Strategies] (National Bureau of Asian Research, November 2010)
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3925277.stm BBC News report on the increased security in the Straits]
• [http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=2752802 "Going for the jugular" Report on the potential terrorist threat to the Straits. From the Economist, requires subscription, in the print edition June 10, 2004]
• [http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050117-115550-1929r.htm China builds up strategic sea lanes]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100706051608/http://www.imo.org/includes/blastDataOnly.asp/data_id%3D3668/marineelectronichighwayarticle.pdf A report from the International Maritime Organisation on the implementation of a Straits "Marine Electronic Highway" - a series of technological measures to ensure safe and efficient use of the busy waters]
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=hM-9joPZMj8C&pg=PA51 Malacca, Singapore, and Indonesia] (1978) by Michael Leifer
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050317141338/http://www.fsas.upm.edu.my/~masdec/web/straits.html The Malacca Straits Research and Development Centre homepage]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051221005030/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7E69A41A-E46F-41D9-AD34-26BA06933A87.htm Al-Jazeera: Malacca Strait nations plan air patrol]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080528100902/http://www.zef.de/fileadmin/webfiles/downloads/zef_wp/zef_wp17_evers-gerke.pdf The Strategic Importance of the Straits of Malacca for World Trade and Regional Development]
• [https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100304/ap_on_re_as/as_singapore_terror_threat;_ylt=Athi3z3jzMzU62jBaOvBAaSs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJzaWdicmZqBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMzA0L2FzX3NpbmdhcG9yZV90ZXJyb3JfdGhyZWF0BGNwb3MDMwRwb3MDMTMEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDc2luZ2Fwb3Jld2Fy AP: Singapore warns of terror threat in Malacca Strait, 2010-03-04]

{{List of Indonesian seas}}

{{List of seas}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Strait Of Malacca}}

Category:International straits

Malacca

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Category:Maritime Southeast Asia

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Malacca

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