Strait of Malacca [2] ( Malay. Selat Melaka , indon. Selat Malaka ) - the strait between the Malay Peninsula (western Malaysia ) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra .
| Strait of Malacca | |
|---|---|
| Malaysian Selat Melaka , indon. Selat malaka | |
| Specifications | |
| Width | 40 [1] km |
| Length | 805 km |
| Deepest | 113 m |
| Location | |
| Connects | Andaman Sea , South China Sea |
| Separates | Malay Peninsula and Sumatra Island |
| Country |
|
The economic importance of the strait
Strategically and economically, the Strait of Malacca, along with the Suez and Panama Canals, is one of the most important sea lanes. This is the main route connecting the Indian Ocean with the Pacific , through which there is a connection between the most populated states of the world - India (2nd place), Indonesia (4th) and China (1st). About 50 thousand vessels pass through the strait annually, serving, according to various estimates, from one fifth to one fourth of the total sea turnover. In 2003, a quarter of the offshore oil transportation, which is approximately 11 million barrels per day, was carried out this way. And, due to the ever-increasing oil needs of China, South Korea and Japan , this figure is constantly growing.
In the Phillips Canal area off the coast of Singapore, the width of the strait is only 2.5 kilometers - this is the bottleneck [3] on oil transportation routes in the world.
Strait Shipping Issues
All this makes the strait a very attractive place for the actions of terrorists and pirates .
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Strait of Malacca was probably the most dangerous place in the world regarding the threat of piracy. Piracy has become the biggest strait issue in recent years.
The number of pirate attacks increased from 25 in 1994 to 220 in 2000. [four]
In early 2004, the number of pirate attacks in the strait rose again sharply. In 2004, 325 pirate attacks were recorded worldwide; while 9 of them occurred in the waters of Malaysia, 8 in the waters of Singapore and 93 in the waters of Indonesia.
This forced the authorities of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to organize, since July 2004, constant patrolling of the entire strait by the armed forces of these countries. However, while Singapore was a supporter of international support for these efforts, Indonesia and Malaysia opposed foreign intervention. It was not known whether these three countries could eliminate piracy. The problem was especially acute in Indonesia.
in 2006, together with Indonesia, which made it clear that it did not have enough forces to patrol the strait, in multinational anti-piracy patrols in the Strait of Malacca, [5] finally, the Indian Navy and the Indian coast guard agreed to join. [6] [7]
At the same time, India also built a UAV base in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to monitor the Andaman Sea adjacent to the Strait of Malacca. [eight]
Thanks to cooperation between these countries and, to some extent, with Thailand, piracy in the region has almost been eliminated: in 2008, only two attacks were recorded. [9] But, according to piracy expert Catherine Zara Raymond:
| It is difficult to understand, especially from outside the region, the reason for this [Comm 1] change in the frequency of pirate attacks and the extent of the problem. At that time, as in the past, piracy on waterways, of course, caused serious concern, because in 2000, the number of attacks reached seventy-five; since 2005, the number of cases has steadily decreased, primarily as a result of countermeasures of the three coastal states of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. This decline was achieved despite a 10% increase in attacks worldwide. |
On April 21, 2011, Malaysian Armed Forces commander General Tan Sri Dato Sri Azizan Ariffin said piracy in the Strait of Malacca reached “ near zero ” in 2010 due to cooperation on patrolling the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. [ten]
Despite the fact that, on the whole, the problem of piracy was managed by the joint efforts of ASEAN countries, separate attacks by pirates still occur to this day. [eleven]
Specialists also fear the actions of terrorists - if they manage to flood a sufficiently large vessel in the smallest spot of the strait (25 meters), this will paralyze the entire transport artery and will have a tremendous destructive effect for all world trade.
Another danger to the sea route through the strait is the smoke from annual forest fires on the island of Sumatra . Visibility during such periods is reduced to 200 meters, which can lead to ship delays and even catastrophes. Smoke also provides stealth to the actions of pirates and terrorists.
Strait Offers
Canal through the Isthmus of Kra
The Thai government has repeatedly made proposals to reduce the load on the strait. It was proposed, in particular, to build a canal through the Isthmus of Kra , which would reduce the route from Africa and Asia to the Pacific Ocean by about 1000 kilometers. It would also make it possible to separate from the rest of the country areas inhabited by separatist-minded Muslims ( Pattani ).
The financial costs and possible environmental damage, however, are so high that it is unlikely that these plans can be expected to be implemented in the near future, despite the fact that, as the Washington Times has learned, China has agreed to finance the construction. [12] According to estimates from 2005, a ten-year project will require the attraction of about 20-25 billion US dollars. [13] .
Alternative Pipelines
There is also a proposal to lay an oil pipeline through the Isthmus of Kra for transshipment of oil from tanker to tanker. Proponents of this plan argue that this will reduce the cost of transporting oil to Asia by about $ 0.50 per barrel.
Myanmar also proposed the construction of such a pipeline on its territory.
There is also a proposal for the construction of the Middle East - Xinjiang pipeline, the construction of which began in October 2004.
Another maritime route should also become an alternative to the Strait of Malacca, for the organization of which it is planned to build a land pipeline and two oil refineries in Malaysia. A 320 km long pipeline will connect the Malaysian states of Kedah and Kelantan in the north of the country. Crude Middle Eastern oil will be delivered to Kedy, refined at local refineries, and then transported through the pipeline to Kelantan. Here, oil products will be loaded onto tankers and sent to the South China Sea, bypassing the Strait of Malacca and Singapore. The construction of the pipeline will begin in August 2007.
See also
- Sri Vijaya
- Malacca Sultanate
- Malacca
- Piracy in the Strait of Malacca
Comments
- ↑ So sharp and significant
Notes
- ↑ Strait of Malacca // Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 51 vol.] / Ch. ed. S. I. Vavilov . - 2nd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1949-1958. ] (2nd edition)]
- ↑ Strait of Malacca // Dictionary of geographical names of foreign countries / ed. ed. A.M. Komkov . - 3rd ed., Revised. and add. - M .: Nedra , 1986.- S. 212.
- ↑ Strait of Malacca - World Oil Transit Chokepoints, Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy . www.connaissancedesenergies.org . Date of treatment December 11, 2018.
- ↑ News . Midships Marine Directory Directory. .
- ↑ News . Indonesian embassy (July 13, 2005). Archived October 25, 2007. .
- ↑ "Sea Transportation: India Joins Piracy Patrol" , Strategy page , 2 March 2006 .
- ↑ Publications , IPCS , < http://www.ipcs.org/whatsNewArticle2.jsp?action=showView&kValue=1936&status=article&mod=b > Archived October 25, 2007 on the Wayback Machine .
- ↑ "Naval Air: Indian Robots Rule the Seas" , Strategy page , 28 March 2007 .
- ↑ Schuman, Michael. How to Defeat Pirates: Success in the Strait of Malacca . "// " Time " . Wednesday 22 April 2009. Retrieved on April 22, 2009.
- ↑ " Drastic drop in piracy in Malacca Straits ", Maritime security (Asia) , < http://maritimesecurity.asia/free-2/piracy-2/drastic-drop-in-piracy-in-malacca-straits/ > Archived November 7, 2017 on the Wayback Machine .
- ↑ Vorobyov N.N., Pogadaev V.A. Navigation and piracy in the Malay archipelago // Nusantara . Southeast Asia. Collection of materials / Compiled and edited by A. K. Ogloblin. - SPb. , 2000. - S. 77–81 .
- ↑ China calling: 'String of pearls' (inaccessible link) . Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ( February 25, 2005). Date of treatment February 11, 2009. Archived March 26, 2012.
- ↑ Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy. Boosting Maritime Capabilities in the Indian Ocean . Worldpress.org ( August 23, 2007). Date of treatment February 11, 2009. Archived March 26, 2012.
Links
- Expert . web.archive.org . Date of treatment December 11, 2018.
- World oil transit chokepoints . archive.is . Date of treatment December 11, 2018.
- BBC News report on the increased security in the Straits . news.bbc.co.uk. Date of treatment December 11, 2018.
- “Going for the jugular” Report on the potential terrorist threat to the Straits. From the Economist, requires subscription, in the print edition June 10th 2004 . www.economist.com . Date of treatment December 11, 2018.
- China builds up strategic sea lanes . www.washingtontimes.com . Date of treatment December 11, 2018.
- A report from the International Maritime Organization on the implementation of a Straits "Marine Electronic Highway" - a series of technological measures to ensure safe and efficient use of the busy waters (link not available) . www.imo.org . Archived July 6, 2010.
- The Malacca Straits Research and Development Center homepage . web.archive.org . Date of treatment December 11, 2018.
- Al-Jazeera: Malacca Strait nations plan air patrol . web.archive.org . Date of treatment December 11, 2018.