Transportation and Communication

A Regional View of Shipping: Southeast Asia Hal F. Olson East-West Center, Honolulu

Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. Kipling

Southeast Asia today, contrary to Kipling's observation, does provide a meet- ing place between East and West, for commerce if not for culture. Trade between the industrialized countries of Europe and the economic powers of East Asia moves through the water passages of Southeast Asia. Crude oil, liquified gases, and other petroleum products from the Middle East, bulk cargos from Africa and Australia, and manufactured goods and machinery from Europe move east and north, while other manufactured goods, vehicles, and machinery move in the opposite directions. Singapore, the highly developed city-state, is the focal point of much of this activity, supporting through traffic and serving as a transshipment point for regional cargos. Other countries of the region are seeking a share of these activities, and their approaches are as varied as the countries themselves: socialist and capitalist, outward and inward looking, developed and developing, rich and poor, centralized and fragmented, ethnically homogeneous and diverse, "conventional" and archipelagic. All are affected by the "con- tainer revolution" and the changing patterns of shipping that are developing from this. Southeast Asia has historically occupied an advantageous position, there being no practical alternate water route between East and West. The region is characterized by the intermingling of land and water to such an extent that all countries of the region must of necessity look to the sea as a primary means of transportation. This applies not only to international trade, but to much of the domestic traffic as well. Even those countries occupying portions of the Asian mainland lack the road and rail networks that elsewhere may provide alternative transportation choices. International marine traffic converges in three major straits in the region-Malacca, Sunda, and Lombok (fig. 1). Malacca Strait provides the shortest route between East and West and until recent years was the only one normally used. During the period when the Suez Canal was closed, vessels FIG. 1.-Southeast Asia straits. sailing directly from Europe around the Cape of Good Hope, not calling at intermediate Asian ports, took a route through Sunda Strait. At about the same time, the very large crude carrier (VLCC) and ultralarge crude carrier (ULCC) came into common employment for the transportation of petroleum. Their extreme drafts, of as much as 90 feet, barred them from using Malacca Strait, so between the Persian Gulf and Japan, these vessels are routed through Lombok and Makassar Straits. Malacca Strait lies between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesia island of Sumatra, connecting the Andaman Sea with Singapore Strait and the South China Sea. Approximately 500 miles in length, Malacca Strait narrows to a width of about 6 miles at its eastern end, where it merges with Singapore Strait. Governing depths in the strait are about 72 feet, but because of the sandy nature of the bottom, frequent changes occur, and that depth may not always be present. In addition, a requirement has been established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for an underkeel clearance of 3.5 m, thus further limiting, for safety, the maximum draft of ships plying the strait.'1 Sunda Strait, between the islands of Sumatra and Java, serves as an alternate to Malacca Strait for vessels sailing to and from southern Africa or

1. Defense Mapping Agency Hydrographic and Cartographic Center, Sailing Directions (Planning Guide) for the Indian Ocean, 3d ed. (Washington, D.C.: Defense Mapping Agency Hydrographic and Cartographic Center, 1988), p. 429.