Why did the Straits of Malacca get its name?

straits of Malacca (English: Strait of Malacca；; Malay: Selat Melaka is a strait between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra Island (11 degrees 2 minutes east longitude and 2 degrees 3 minutes north latitude).

The waterway connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean) covers an area of 65, square kilometers (25, square miles), with Sumatra Island in Indonesia on the west and South Malaysia and Thailand on the east. The strait is 8 kilometers (5 miles) long and looks like a funnel. Its south mouth is only 65 kilometers (4 miles) wide, and it gradually widens to the north, reaching 249 kilometers (155 miles) wide to the north mouth between Shahuang in Indonesia and Cradixia in Thailand. The Strait of Malacca was named after Malacca, a trading port on the Malayan coast, which was an important port in the 16th and 17th centuries.

the Malacca strait runs southeast-northwest. Its northwest end connects with the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean, and its southeast end connects with the South China Sea. The total length of the Strait is about l8 kilometers, the widest in the northwest is 37 kilometers, the narrowest in the southeast is only 37 kilometers, and the water depth is 25 to 15 meters. It is an international waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and it is also the crossroads of Asia and Oceania.

At the eastern end of the Straits of Malacca, there is Singapore, a big port in the world, with busy shipping. About 1, ships (mostly oil tankers) pass through the Strait every year. Most of the oil purchased by Japan from the Middle East is transported to China through here.

Historical overview

Around the 4th century AD, Arabs opened a route from the Indian Ocean through the Straits of Malacca to China via the South China Sea. They shipped China's silk, porcelain and spices from Maluku Islands to European countries such as Rome. From the 7th century to 15th century, China, Indian and Arab countries' maritime trade vessels all passed through the Straits of Malacca.

at the beginning of the 16th century, Portuguese navigators opened a route from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

in p>1869, the Suez canal was completed, greatly shortening the route from Europe to the east. The number of navigable vessels in the Straits of Malacca has increased dramatically. In recent years, there are more than 8, ships passing through the Strait every year, making it one of the busiest straits in the world.

The coastal port of Singapore is a world-famous port with the fourth throughput in the world. The coastline of the port is three or four kilometers long, which can accommodate more than 3 giant ships at the same time. With a 4,-ton giant dock, it can repair the world's largest supertanker.

Economic status

Malacca Strait is an important international waterway both economically and militarily. The importance can be compared with Suez Canal or Panama Canal.

The Straits of Malacca is an important waterway between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, connecting three populous countries in the world: China, India and Indonesia. In addition, it is also an important channel for oil from West Asia to East Asia. Japan, an economic power, often calls the Straits of Malacca its "lifeline".

About 5, ships pass through the Straits of Malacca every year. With the economic rise of China, it is estimated that this number will double in 2 years. It accounts for one-fifth to one-quarter of the world's maritime trade. A quarter of the world's oil tankers pass through the Straits of Malacca. For example, in 23, it was estimated that 11 million barrels of oil (about 1,7, m3) passed through the Malacca Strait every day.

As a waterway connecting the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, Malacca Strait is the shortest sea route between India and China, so it is also one of the busiest waterways in the world. In the early years, it helped a large number of Asian immigrants determine the direction of crossing the Malay archipelago. The Straits of Malacca were successively controlled by Arabs, Portuguese, Dutch and British.

in the 2th century, the oil wells in the east coast of Sumatra, not far from the Sunda shelf, made some oil companies start to explore oil in the Maliujia Strait. Besides other ships, the Straits of Malacca can also be used for large oil tankers sailing between oil fields in the Middle East and seaports in Japan and other East Asian countries.