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News: Indonesia has said it does not plan to charge tolls on ships passing through the Strait of Malacca.
About Strait of Malacca
- Location: The Strait of Malacca is a long and narrow stretch of water located between the Malay Peninsula, West Malaysia, and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
- Named after: Its name was derived from the Malacca Sultanate, who governed the archipelago from 1400 until 1511.
- Size: It has an area of about 65,000 sq. km.
- Depth and Width: It has a width of about 890 kilometres and a depth of 25 meters.
- Geography of the Strait of Malacca
- It connects the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) in the west to the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean) in the east.
- At the Philips Channel(near Singapore), it becomes very narrow, measuring only about 2.8 km wide.
- It is bordered to the north by Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.
- Its southern boundary is at Lem Voalan (Thailand).
- The northwest boundary of the strait borders the Ujong Baka (Indonesia).
- The southeasternmost part of the strait is defined by Tajung Piai ( Malaysia).
- Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia control the joint patrolling of the Malacca Strait.
- Economic and strategic significance: It is a major shipping connection between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
- It provides the shortest route between East Asia, West Asia and Europe.
- Around one-fifth (almost 20%) of global maritime trade moves through this corridor.
- Note: The term Malaccamax is used to define the maximum volume of a vessel that is able to pass through the Strait of Malacca.
- A ship whose volume exceeds the Malaccamax must use wider and deeper straits such as Lombok Strait, Makassar Strait, and the Mindoro Strait.
