High Traffic, High Risk in the Strait of Malacca
The strait connects the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Many of the world’s largest economies, which are now concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, use the channel for trade with the energy-rich Middle East and resource-rich Africa. The strait is one of the world’s busiest: Nearly 100,000 vessels pass through it each year, accounting for about one-quarter of the world’s traded goods.
But geography, which makes the strait especially crucial for global commerce, is also what makes the Strait of Malacca dangerous. It remains one of the world’s narrowest straits: 1.5 nautical miles, or about 1.7 miles on land, at its narrowest point, the Phillips Channel, near Singapore, making it a particularly perilous place for ships
The Strait of Malacca has strategic importance, too: China, the dominant Asian power, is heavily reliant on the Middle East for its energy needs; about 25 percent of oil shipped between the Middle East and Asia passes through the strait—a figure that has steadily increased as China and other regional powers grow in population and wealth. Any blockade of the strait would result not only in China being cut off from its energy supplies in the Middle East, but also from raw material from Africa, where China has invested billions of dollars in mining and infrastructure projects.
