Strait of Malacca Map Introduction to the geographical location of the Strait of Malacca

The Strait of Malacca is the busiest maritime transportation route in the world, and is well documented in underground textbooks and history books. Many people are curious about the Strait of Malacca and want to travel and explore, and also want to visit nearby Singapore.

The Strait of Malacca, located between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra in Indonesia, is a narrow waterway connecting the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea, thereby indirectly connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is named after its proximity to the ancient city of Malacca in the Malay Peninsula.

Map of the Strait of Malacca

The Strait of Malacca is a narrow waterway from northwest to southeast, with a total length of 1,080 kilometers. If the Singapore Strait at the east entrance is included, the total length is 1,185 kilometers. The channel is trumpet-shaped, 370 kilometers wide at the northwest exit, narrow in the southeast, with many small islands, and the narrowest point is only 37 kilometers. The bottom of the channel is flat, and the water depth of the main channel is about 25~150m, increasing from southeast to northwest, and can generally accommodate ships of 200,000 tons. Since the Malacca Strait is located near the equator, the wind is weak and the waterway is always calm. Coupled with the complete navigation mark system, navigation is very safe.

The Strait of Malacca is the main shipping channel from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia to East Asia and Oceania. It is also a maritime hub between Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania. Its transportation status is very important and it is known as the "Gibraltar of the East". According to statistics, more than 50,000 ships pass through the strait every year, and an average of more than 140 ships pass through the strait every day, making the Strait of Malacca one of the busiest straits in the world. It is the only way for Southeast Asia to connect South Asia, West Asia and the east coast of Africa. Since Japan imports 90% of its oil from Africa and the Middle East every year, and a large amount of raw materials and export commodities are transported here, the strait is regarded as Japan's "maritime lifeline."

Map of Southeast Asia

Due to its important strategic position and economic value, the strait has been occupied by Portugal, the Netherlands, Britain and Japan since the 16th century. It was not until after World War II that the Malacca Strait was owned by the coastal countries. In 2013, the strait was jointly managed by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

In addition to the Strait of Malacca, there are also some straits between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but they are either shallow and rocky, or lack navigation facilities due to their remote location, and most of them are located within Indonesian territorial waters. Therefore, international routes rarely pass through it, which makes the Strait of Malacca actually the only channel that connects the two oceans for a long time, which is very important both economically and strategically. Especially since Japan emerged as the world's third economic power in the 1960s and other countries and regions in the Far East developed rapidly, the volume of trade between the East and the West has increased significantly, and the importance of the Malacca Strait has become even more prominent. Based on how busy its ships are and the amount of cargo they carry, it ranks second after the English Channel among the 114 navigable straits of international significance in the world.

Located at the "crossroads" of Asia and Oceania, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, its geographical location is very important. Relying on the Strait of Malacca, Singapore has vigorously developed entrepot trade and has become an important cargo distribution center in the world.

Topographic Map of Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

The Strait of Malacca at the intersection of the "Crossroads" enjoys 12 nautical miles of territorial waters on both sides of the strait and at least 12 nautical miles of territorial waters for small islands within the strait. The rest is the exclusive economic zone; coastal countries have sovereignty over the territorial waters of the strait and the waters of the strait’s exclusive economic zone. Malacca is an important shipping channel connecting Asia with Europe and the Middle East and Asia, controlling 25% of the world's shipping trade. According to statistics, nearly half of the world's oil tankers pass through the Strait of Malacca every year. Known as the "maritime lifeline" by the Japanese

Malacca is an important shipping channel connecting Asia with Europe and the Middle East and Asia, controlling 25% of the world's shipping trade. According to statistics, nearly half of the world's oil tankers pass through the Strait of Malacca every year. Known as the "maritime lifeline" by the Japanese, in the early 1970s, 40,000 ships passed through the Strait of Malacca every year, including 7,000 from Japan and 6,000 from the United Kingdom. Since then, shipping in the strait has developed again. From 2010 to 2013, there were nearly 100,000 ships in navigation every year, especially as the ships became larger and larger. Since Japan built the world's first 150,000-ton ship "Tokyo Maru" in 1966, so-called super tankers with larger tonnage have emerged in batches. From 2010 to 2013, more than 180,000 tons of supertankers passed through the Strait of Malacca. Such busy navigation, coupled with the increase in the size of ships, has made the Malacca Strait narrower and narrower, thus increasing the unsafe factors during navigation. In addition, there are many shoals in the Strait of Malacca, including 37 shoals with a water depth of less than 23 meters. In addition, shipwrecks, quicksand, silt, etc. often change the conditions of the waterway, further increasing the possibility of accidents and posing a serious threat to coastal countries. A typical example is that in 1975, two large oil tankers ran aground or collided, resulting in a total loss of 8,900 tons of oil. In 1979, an oil tanker collided with an aircraft carrier, resulting in the loss of another 10,000 tons of oil, causing serious pollution each time.