Straits of Malacca

There has been a great deal of speculation and prognostication about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The project's name suggests it is intended to be an 'economic corridor' connecting Pakistan overland with China's Xinjiang province. This book examines whether CPEC's primary purpose is as an overland conduit for trade and economic cooperation between China and Pakistan. The key finding is that aims related to regional geopolitics and internal security have, in reality, a more significant impact. The book demonstrates that China's goals in Pakistan are primarily geopolitical rather than geo-economic, since the notion of constructing an economic and transportation 'corridor' between Pakistan and China is logistically and economically problematic due to a range of foreseeable problems. Most importantly, border disputes with India and the containment of domestic separatism motivate are the driving forces for cooperation between the partners. This book will be of interest to scholars who research the BRI, as well as policy makers.

The present paper explores the shifting roles and understandings of the Singapore Straits from the latter Middle Ages until the opening decades of the eighteenth century. In pursuing this task, I will develop a set of basic questions that historicize and problematize the roles, functions and understandings of the Straits across the centuries, and also tease out historical and historiographical paradigms shaping and underpinning the understanding of the region’s past. In pursuing this programme I will make use of a broad range of sources including chronicles and histories, letters and treaties, navigational instructions and travel literature, as well as (European) cartography of the 16th to 18th centuries. In order to gain deeper appreciation of the multi-faceted roles and understandings of the Singapore Straits across the longue durée, I  not only adduce and evaluate materials of European colonial origin, but importantly also heed special attention to sources of Asian origin in general, and specifically to materials that have originally been written in Arabic, Malay, Chinese and have been made accessible to the wider reading public in various contemporary translations. The modes of enquiry and the insights brought to paper here differ both in terms of scope and objectives from my earlier findings expounded in The Singapore and Melaka Straits published in 2010.

Due to the Malacca Straits’ strategic centrality in contemporary
regional shipping routes, the Japanese have become very concerned
about the passage of ships through the area as they have increasingly
attracted the attention of maritime criminals such as pirates and
smugglers. This study has two objectives, namely to 1) describe the
background and the importance of the Malacca Straits to Japan; 2)
discuss Japan’s contribution and its cooperation with the littoral
states. Significantly, this study has found that, in order for Japan to
protect its own national interests, it has had to take the necessary
steps to strengthen diplomatic relations with littoral states as well
as assisting in improving maritime security in the Malacca Straits.
Based on empirical evidence, this study proposes several approaches
toward improve current regional cooperation mechanisms by
addressing common regional security issues.

Malacca Strait, a waterway located in South East Asia between the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra, is undoubtedly one of the most important strait in the world with more than one third of world’s goods transported through it. The traffic of international vessels in the strait is also larger compared to the well known Panama Canal in Central America and Suez Canal in Egypt. The security of Malacca Strait, therefore, is of a great importance for the world economy and for almost all the countries in the world.
Nevertheless, various types of threats exist in the Malacca Strait. With huge traffic of vessels, the strait is an interesting field for pirates. The number of piracy in the strait reached a level that was so high compared to other waterways in the world that the strait was once categorized as an area with the risk of a war zone. The lack of capacity of the littoral states to secure the strait coupled with their unwillingness to share the burden of patrolling the straits with other countries due to the issue of sovereignty are frequently mentioned as the main cause of the problem. Indonesia and Malaysia are very firm in their position to reject foreign military’s presence in the strait, while Singapore advocates it due to its lack of trust in the two countries’ capacity.
Instead of a direct involvement, Indonesia and Malaysia urge more contribution in the form of aids and capacity building from the user states. The two countries think that the user states frequently hide behind the status of the Strait as the strait used for international navigation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the SEA (UNCLOS), which implicates that the littoral states could not oblige the vessels that pass through the strait to pay some fees to maintain the security in the strait since they have the right of transit passage in such strait.
The geographical topology of the strait poses a different kind of challenge. The climate and water current in the strait is unpredicted, strong wind and rain that could come up anytime frequently endanger the safety of navigation in the strait. Some parts of the strait are very narrow and shallow, causing some accidents such as collision, grounding, and foundering to happen. These accidents have ecological consequences, mainly related to oil spills, and endanger the ecosystem and economic resources of the coastal communities.
Although different countries have different perspectives on the approach that should be taken, all shares the similarity of perspective that the Strait of Malacca is of a great importance and the question of security management in the strait should be solved. In line with this, various approaches in various levels were taken by the littoral and user states.
This writing will explain the geographical topology of the strait, its status under international law, and its strategic importance to gain a deeper understanding about the strait as the object of the discourse. After that, it will discuss more about the security threats and challenges in the straits and the approaches taken by countries to resolve these challenges and their effectiveness. The approaches would be categorized into three levels: unilateral, trilateral, and multilateral level.

"This book offers annotated translations of documents touching on Dutch admiral Cornelis Matelieff de Jonge and his voyage to Asia between 1605 and 1608. These translations are aimed at a contemporary English-speaking Asian readership interested in the early modern history of European trade, warfare and expansion in Southeast Asia with a focus on Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Researchers specialising in early European colonialism, international law, international relations, security studies, and diplomatic history will also find that the documents translated in this volume offer new and unfamiliar perspectives. Materlieff’s business acumen, military and diplomataic prowess as well as his vision of empire all have implications for examining not only European expansion into Southeast Asia, but also into other regions at large, including especially south Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Admiral Matelieff was a director of the Rotterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) formed in 1602. He was appointed fleet commander on one of the company’s first voyages to Asia. Matelieff’s mission was both commercial and military: he launched a major sea-borne attack on the Portuguese colony of Melaka, arranged for the signing of treaties with the rulers of Johor, Aceh and Ternate, and founded the first Dutch fort on the island of Ternate. His endeavours, however, to open the Chinese market for the Dutch company proved unsuccessful.
Following his return to the Dutch Republic in September 1608, Matelieff penned a series of memorials and letters. In these he advanced recommendations for changing the way the company organized its fleets and conducted business. More importantly he offered  his Dutch contemporaries a vision of empire in Asia. The materials contained in this volume offer important observations of a perceptive analyst who was also determined to grasp the political and economic structures of Asia, and also of inter-state relations in across this vast region. At a time of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, French and English engagement in Southeast Asia, Matelieff sought to critically assess and strategize on the ways in which Europeans were increasingly engaging with Asian polities and their rulers.

This book will be released for sale in Australasia and Europe in June 2014 and available in the Americas after September 2014
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The long-term migration of peoples into Southeast Asia resulted in the emergence of various “Peranakan” cultures. “Peranakan,” meaning locally-born, seems definitive today with the development of Peranakan heritage tourism in Southeast Asia.  This paper focuses on the Babas and Nyonyas of Chinese descent,  and seeks to deconstruct presentist notions and definition of “Peranakan.” Also known as the “Straits Chinese,” as many Babas and Nyonyas lived on the Straits Settlements, “Peranakan” was chosen to contest the geography of cultural identity.

Research on the Peranakans is largely based on The Straits Chinese Magazine  (1897-1907). By comparing it with other English and Romanised-Malay publications, this paper questions if Peranakans have always been as Anglicised as perceived to be. Academic attention on the SCM and the Straits Chinese Reform Movement has led to a domination of the Straits Chinese British Association dominating historiographical impressions of “Peranakan” socio-political identity.

Besides the mixture of languages used, Chinese classics and English literature were adapted in these texts. Debates found in these texts ranged from the opium debate, gambling, to schooling. Schools were an avenue for the Methodist movement, “Anglicization,” and socio-economic improvement. The backdrop for these debates was the 1911 Chinese Republican movement that revitalised debates on “Chineseness,” strong Victorian-English pride, and the development of writing and translation in the Malay literary sphere. Using the long-running theme of what was “proper” behaviour amongst the Nyonyas, this paper seeks to argue that Peranakan cultural identity was ever-changing. An attempt to ‘define’ Peranakan culture would be redundant and historicist as it fixates what Peranakan culture is today, rather than recognizing its organic form.

Through history, the Straits of Malacca have been a highway for maritime traders and contacts between East and West. Powerful kingdoms and cities have arisen and a typical trait has been immigration and strong influences from far and near, contributing to a multicultural identity. In the late 14th century or early 15th century the city and the kingdom of Melaka was founded. The small fishing village rapidly grew to a large port and emporium, overshadowing the older ports in the area. The wealth of Melaka soon drew attention from the Portuguese, followed by Dutch and British, largely driven by capitalism. The colonial period of Melaka lasted from early 16th to mid-20th century, almost encompassing the entire era of the European colonialism (early 15th to mid-20th century). The city has witnessed the changing fate of various European powers, whose legacies have been intricately woven into its urban form. The layering process of vernacular, Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese and Islamic cultures and its materialization had been going on peacefully since the creation of these cosmopolitan settlement and communities in Melaka. The cosmopolitan culture has been formed through complex layering processes of various cultures, ideologies, economies, and ecosystems sustained over a long extended historical period and clearly manifested in the complexity and hybridity of the production of its settlements’ morphology and architectural typologies. Like other Southeast Asian cities, Melaka’s cultural and geographical boundaries are always blurring, overlapping, or intersecting, and cannot clearly be defined. People in different places, islands or continents have kept moving, communicating, and intermingling from past till present, influencing each other and producing hybrid, fused, diverse architecture and material culture. Therefore the urban morphology of Melaka has to be understood since the inception of the city, through the perspectives of the cosmopolitan communities, the colonial powers as well as the Malaysian government post-independence.

The Singapore and Melaka Straits are a place where regional and long-distance maritime trading networks converge, linking Europe, the Mediterranean, eastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent with key centres of trade in Thailand, Indochina, insular Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan. The first half of the seventeenth century brought heightened political, commercial and diplomatic activity to this region. It has long been clear to both the Portuguese and the Dutch that whoever controlled the waters off modern Singapore gained a firm grip on regional as well as long-distance intra-Asian trade. By the early 1600s Portuguese power and prestige were waning and the arrival of the Dutch East India Company constituted a major threat. Moreover, the rapid expansion and growing power of the Acehnese Empire, and rivalry between Johor and Aceh, was creating a new context for European trade in Asia.

Drawing on maps, rare printed works, and unpublished manuscripts written in Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and Latin, Peter Borschberg provides new information on the diplomatic activities of Asian powers, and shows how the Portuguese and Spanish attempted to restore their political fortunes by containing the rapid rise of Dutch Power in the region. Key documents, transcribed and translated into English for the first time, make up a series of appendices.

The product of more than two decades of research in European libraries, archives, The Singapore and Melaka Straits will be of great interest to readers in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, where little is known about this pivotal pre-colonial period. It is also an invaluable resource for historians and other students of early modern Europe and of the European presence in Asia.
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This short article provides an overview of some of the principal themes that plague historians working on Singapore history during the period c.1500-1800. While a more complete picture is emerging, there are still some spots where evidence is sparse or missing entirely - and these relate chiefly to the first half of the 18th century.

Maritime security is a complex subject. While in the past the issues primarily concern that of military confrontation and conflict, today's maritime concern include among others, organized crimes, environmental degradation, sea piracy, armed robbery against ships, smuggling, hijacking, illegal immigration, search and rescue and the potential threat of maritime terrorism. And with the continued dependence of global commerce on a safe and secure sea lanes and shipping routes to undertake cost effective movement of people, goods and services, the question of safety of navigation and the security of the maritime zones remain of interest to all nations including Malaysia.

What factors are discouraging or encouraging piracy in the Horn of Africa, West Africa and the Strait of Malacca? This report finds that a combination of factors in each of the regions have affected levels of piracy, at different times and depending on the type of piracy. For example, these factors may differ for subsistence pirates (largely gangs made up of part-timers who are often poor and seeking an alternative source of income) and professional pirates (hierarchically organised syndicates with well-developed logistical chains).

Factors encouraging piracy

Bueger (2015: 34) identifies five triggers for piracy from the literature: geography; weak law enforcement; maritime insecurity; economic dislocation, including economic shocks in the fishing sector; and cultural acceptability. Clark and Hansen (2012: 502) also identify the increased trend towards ‘skeleton crews’, competing demands for scarce security resources, the willingness of owner-operators to pay ever-larger ransoms, and the global proliferation of arms as factors that have contributed to piracy. Other factors include:
◾Illegal fishing and environmental degradation, which is mentioned as a key grievance driving piracy. Criminal gangs use this narrative while targeting valuable commercial ships unconnected to illegal fishing.
◾Community support, which enables pirates to hold hostages for months in ‘safe havens’.
◾‘Sea blindness’, including lax maritime rules and regulations, has weakened states’ capacity to combat piracy.

Factors discouraging piracy

Piracy has been reduced through a mix of methods, including naval patrols, self-protection measures and armed guards on vessels, and capacity building efforts and development on shore (Anyimadu, 2013: 17). Asariotis et al. (2014b: 57) suggest that piracy reduction depends on the economic situation and political stability in affected regions, as well as strengthened maritime security cooperation, information sharing, and the effective prosecution of pirates and those who benefit from piracy. In addition, an expert consulted for this report identifies three types of effective non-military land-based counter-piracy efforts:
◾shutting down the market for loot, which involves  better real-time tracking and registration of ships, better regulation and registration of refineries, ports and shipping companies, and more surveillance of unusual market manoeuvres
◾providing economic opportunities to increase the opportunity cost of engaging in piracy
◾decreasing the political space in which pirates can operate: for example, unifying elites against piracy works well and does not require particularly strong state institutions.

Discouraging piracy and solving piracy require different approaches; suppression is not the same as a lasting solution.  Counter-piracy efforts also need to recognise the different forms of piracy, which require differing initiatives to counteract them.

China,USA and India have their own national interest in the Straits of Malacca, same like Japan. This paper will attempt to explain what is the significance of China, USA and India toward Japan in the strategic aspect. It has two objectives: namely 1) to describe the China, USA and India policies toward the Straits of Malacca; 2) to discuss the the signification of USA, India and China Presence in the Straits of
Malacca toward Japan. This study will use both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected from structured interviews involving ten informants in various professional fields that are directly involved in maritime security in the Straits of Malacca, China, USA and India. Secondary data was collected from literature reviews based on scientific publications, theses, journal articles, and online material, such as newspaper articles. Primary data was also obtained from professional respondents from abroad through electronic media such as email. The findings of this study show that, to protect its national interests, Japan need to have a strategic partnership with USA and India to counter China if China tried to control the straits.

A field survey was carried out in Aman Island, the northern Strait of Malacca, to investigate the occurrence of harmful microalgae. The area is known for marine finfish cage-culture and blood cockle farming. Plankton samples were collected fortnightly between July 2011 and September 2013. A total of 58 phytoplankton genera were recorded; 37 belong to the diatoms, and 21 genera were dinoflagellates. Harmful microalgae species were identified microscopically, of which nine are bloom-forming species that responsible for fish kills. These included Akashiwo sanguinea, Chaetoceros affinis, Cha. curvisetus, Cha. laevis, Ceratium furca, C. fusus, Co-chlodinium sp., Karlodinium australe and Noctiluca scintillans. Three Alexandrium species were identified from the samples, i.e. A. leei, A. affine and Alexandrium sp. Pulau Aman; some species in the genus have been known to associate with Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP). Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP)-toxin producers were also encountered in the water samples, viz. Dinophysis acuminata, D. caudata, Dinophysis sp. and Prorocentrum micans. The harmful diatom, Pseudo-nitzschia spp. that associated with Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP), was commonly found in the water samples. Cell abundance of each harmful microalga was enumerated. The results showed that cell densities of harmful microalgae were relatively low throughout the sampling period. The microal-gae community was dominated by Ceratium furca in May 2012, with cell densities exceeding 70,000 cells L-1; no fish kill event was reported during the time. Even though no fish kill or shellfish poisoning was reported in the area, he presence of harmful microalgae albeit at low cell densities, may pose a potential threat to human health and seafood biosecurity. Therefore, regular phytoplankton monitoring is necessary to safeguard human health and seafood industries in the country. ABSTRAK Satu kajian telah dijalankan untuk menyiasat kewujudan mikroalga berbahaya di Pulau Aman, utara Selat Melaka. Kawasan ini telah dikenali dengan ternakan ikan marin dalam sangkar dan kerang. Sampel plankton telah diambil setiap dua minggu antara Julai 2011 sehingga September 2013. Sebanyak 58 taksa fitoplank-ton direkodkan; 37 adalah diatoms dan 21 genera adalah dinoflagelat. Spesis mikroalga berbahaya telah dikenal pasti secara mikroskopik, di mana sembilan dikenali sebagai spesies pembentuk ledakan yang boleh menyebabkan kematian ikan. Ini termasuklah Akashiwo sanguinea, Chaetoceros affinis, Cha. curvisetus, Cha. laevis, Ceratium furca, C. fusus, Cochlodinium sp., Karlodinium australe dan Noctiluca scintillans. Tiga spesies Alexandrium telah dikenal pasti dari sampel, iaitu A. leei, A. affine dan Alexandrium sp. Pulau Aman; beberapa spesies dalam genus ini dikaitkan dengan Keracunan Kerang-kerangan melumpuhkan (PSP). Penghasil toksin penybab Keracunan Kerang-kerangan cirit-birit (DSP) juga ditemui dalam sampel air, iaitu. Dinophysis acuminata, D. caudata, Dino-physis sp. dan Prorocentrum micans. Diatom berbahaya Pseudo-nitzschia spp. yang dikaitkan dengan Keracunan Kerang-kerangan amnesia (ASP) juga seringkali ditemui di dalam sampel air. Jumlah kepadatan sel mikroalga berbahaya telah dihitung. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa kepadatan sel mikroalga berbahaya secara relatif adalah rendah sepanjang tempoh pensampelan. Pada Mei 2012, komposis mikroalga didominasi oleh C. furca dengan kepadatan sel melebihi 70,000 sel L-1 tetapi tiada kematian ikan dilaporkan pada masa itu. Walaupun tiada kejadian kematian ikan atau keracunan kerang-kerangan dilaporkan di kawasan itu, kehadiran mikroalga berbahaya walaupun dalam kepadatan sel yang rendah boleh menimbulkan ancaman kepada kesihatan manusia dan biosekuriti makanan laut. Oleh itu, pemantauan fitoplankton secara berkala adalah perlu untuk menjamin kesihatan manusia dan makanan laut di negara ini. Aman Island, an island in the northern part of the Straits of Malacca, is a very important marine finfish (grouper, snapper and sea bass) aquaculture area and blood cockle farming. In 2012, it produced 1.8 × 10 3 tonnes of marine fish valued RM 18.26 million (Department of Fisheries Malaysia). To date, there has been very limited baseline data on the occurrence of harmful algal bloom (HAB) in the waters surrounding Aman Island. Red discoloration of the coastal waters caused by the dinoflagellate, (

The increasing of China"s national interest in the Strait of Malacca over the years, since maritime trading has become an important element of its modern economy. Due to the complex nature of these potential threats, there is the temptation for China to address the "Dilemma" unilaterally as the country modernise its naval forces. This has led to the concern that China is securitizing the Strait for its own purpose, hence posing a threat to other stakeholders and users of the Strait. By using the qualitative approach, this research has set out to identify the background of China"s socio-economy condition, and to discuss China"s National Interest in the Strait of Malacca. As a result, the research"s findings are (1) It is China"s socioeconomic condition that has greatly contributed to its interest in the Strait of Malacca, (2) China has taken actions in addressing its needs on the Strait of Malacca

Un análisis del lugar de Malasia, el Estrecho de Malaca, punto estratégico en el comercio marítimo mundial, en la geotrategia mundial, puntualmente, vinculado con el Acuerdo Estratégico Trans Pacífico de Asociación Económica  impulsado por Estados Unidos. Se constituye en un espacio clave en la disputa global entre dos grandes potencias, Estados Unidos, con su maniobra llamada Pivot Asiático, y China, con su proyectada Ruta de la Seda

China has been using the Straits of Malacca as its main route for importing raw materials and exporting its products. Due to its position on the Straits of Malacca as a main route for trading ships, China is very concerned about the maritime security in the Straits because of on traditional crimes such as maritime piracy, smuggling and terrorism. What are the actions taken by China based on the String of Pearls strategy and its implications towards Japan? This paper
will attempt to explain the mechanisms taken by China to protect its national interests in the Straits of Malacca between 2005 and 2012. It has three objectives: namely 1) to describe the importance of the Straits of Malacca to China; 2) to discuss the String of Pearls strategy in the
Straits of Malacca; and 3) to discuss the implications of the String of Pearls strategy towards Japan. This study will use both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected from structured interviews involving ten informants in various professional fields that are directly
involved in maritime security in the Straits of Malacca. Secondary data was collected from literature reviews based on scientific publications, theses, journal articles, and online material, such as newspaper articles. Primary data was also obtained from professional respondents from
abroad through electronic media such as email. The findings of this study show that, to protect its national interests, China has had to modernize its military capabilities, especially its naval power,
as well as to strengthen diplomatic ties with the littoral states.

Southeast Asia, since its early inhabitation, has formed a distinctive regional system thanks to its peculiar geography. The area that contains the Strait of Malacca, because of being at the crossroads of both internal and external regional water-borne trade and thus social interaction since ancient times, has gained a status of being the economic, politic and cultural hub of the region. The study argues the Southeast Asia regional system through two main periods; pre-colonial period and colonial period. The colonialism in the region has taken as the axis here since the Southeast Asia regional system has been established before and fully functioned until the advent of colonialism. During this period, Indian, Chinese and the Middle Eastern economic, politic and cultural influences spread to the region. The colonial administrations hit a fatal blow to the system and the economic, politic and cultural demography of the region changed dramatically. In the framework of this historical background, the study concludes that the recent Southeast Asian regionalism, rather than being a unique example, can be considered as a revival of the ancient Southeast Asian regional system.

En este trabajo vamos a estudiar las Rutas de la Seda marítimas y la influencia de este producto textil y su tráfico en el Sudeste Asiatico Marítimo como forma de entender los cambios políticos, económicos y religiosos de la región entre los siglos X y XV.

Malakka Boğazı vasıtasıyla dünya ticareti için en önemli noktalardan biri olmasının yanı sıra zengin doğal kaynaklara sahip olan Güney Çin Denizi, başta Çin olmak üzere, burada hak iddia eden Tayvan, Vietnam, Kamboçya, Filipinler, Malezya ve Brunei arasında uzun süredir sorun olmaya devam etmektedir. Güney Çin Denizi’nin önemi nedeniyle bu sorun küresel bir boyut kazanmış ve ABD, Japonya gibi devletler de kendi çıkarlarını korumak amacıyla soruna müdahil olmuşlardır. Son dönemlerde ise yükselen bir güç olan Hindistan, özellikle Vietnam tarafından, Çin’i dengelemek amacıyla soruna dahil edilmek istenmektedir. Bu bağlamda makalede; Çin-Hindistan ilişkileri ve Güney Çin Denizi’ndeki sorunun gelişimi hakkında kısa bir bilgi verildikten sonra, Güney Çin Denizi sorununa Hindistan’ın neden ve ne şekilde dahil olduğu, bu durumun bölgesel dinamikler açısından önemi ve Çin-Hindistan ilişkilerine yansımaları incelenmektedir.

The South China Sea, which has rich natural resources as well as being one of the most important trade routes through the Strait of Malacca, continues to be a problem between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Malasia and Brunei as they all claim sovereignty over some parts of the sea. The issue has gained a global dimension with the involvement of powers such as the US and Japan to protect their own interests. Recently, especially Vietnam wants to implicate India to the South China Sea issue to balance China.  In this context, after giving a brief information about China-India relations and the developmet of the South China Sea problem, the article tries to analyse the reasons of India’s involvement, the importance of India’s involvement for regional dynamics and its effect to China-India relations.

The purpose of this research paper is to prove that China's policy towards the South China Sea represents a preemptive measure based on reducing China's energetic security threat concerning a potential blockade of the Malacca Strait by the US or India, in case of conlict escalation. By proving so, researchers will better understand the issues concerning the South China Sea and give insight into a perspective that is not largely debated. The strategy that was approached in this research and the methodology used was descriptive, analytical deductive. We followed to analyze a wide range of books and articles that are references in the domain. The results seem to prove that China's policy towards the South China Sea is directed towards multiple goals, such as avoiding containment, ighting for resources, protection of its energy security in the Malacca Strait and establishing itself as hegemon in the region. In those aspects, China's action in the South China Sea can be explained on the basis of achieving the means of attaining those certain goals. The hypothesis seems to stand to the degree in which a war would break out. Achieving sovereignty over the region, would endanger the passage of essential energetic inputs for relevant regionals actors and for the US, and can be used as a backup plan of blackmailing those actors in the situation in which China's oil ship imports would be blocked in the Malacca Strait. Until then, China's actions in the South China Sea can be seen as the necessary steps to achieve this leverage in their position with the US and other regional powers. Therefore, we can state that China's policy towards the South China Sea can represent a preemptive measure based on reducing China's energetic security threat concerning a potential blockade of the Malacca Strait by the US or India, in case of conlict escalation.

A comprehensive marine geophysical survey comprising 650 line km of side scan sonar, seismic (boomer) and 100 grabs and cores samples was analysed from the PermatangSedepa (One Fathom Bank) area, Straits of Malacca. Side scan sonar and seismic reflection (boomer) interpretation revealed five types of bedforms composed of sand banks, sand waves, ripples, flat beds and rock pinnacles. The surface seabed is predominantly covered by sand waves, ripples and sand banks, which comprise 45%, 30% and 10% respectively of the study area. The sediment transport interpreted from sand waves asymmetry indicates the net sand transport direction in the study area is to the northwest, and confirms the general trend of current flow through the Straits of Malacca. General seismic stratigraphic analysis demonstrated that two bedrock types (granite and consolidated sediments), are covered by Quaternary sediment. The thickness of the Quaternary sediment ranges from 0 to 45 ms. The thickness of the Holocene sedimentsvaries between 0 - 7mswhile the Pleistocene sediments varies from 2–45 ms. In places there are no deposits of Holocene sediments in the western and eastern centre of study area where the Pleistocene sediments are exposed on the seabed. Towards the southwest (eastern corner) of the study area, Holocene sediments directly overlie the bedrock where there are no deposits of Pleistocene sediments. Quaternary sediment isopach maps demonstrate that thick sediments were deposited during the Pleistocene to Holocene period within old channels and small basins. Three peat deposits were encountered at -30 m, -37 m and -47 m O.D. which, with reference to sea-level curves, gives an interpolated age of 9,600 -10,200 years B.P. Submerged palaeo sea level terraces have been interpreted from flooding surface contour map to occur at -24 m, -30 m, -37 m and -47 m O.D. which similarly gives an interpolated age of 9,300 -10,200 years B.P. The agreement of the depths of the peats and submerged terraces (at -30 , - 37 and -47 m) support episodic sea level rise between 9,500 and 10,200 years B.P in the Straits of Malacca.

Straits of Malacca waterways is an important sea-lanes to Japan, not only for economy purpose but also in strategic aspect. But that area is not a Japan's territories. So it is impossible to Japan to endure this waterways safe from maritime threats. Using data and research findings from 2001-2016, this article will debate about Japan's role to enhance the maritim security in straits of Malacca.This study has three objectives, namely 1) Explains the importance of the straits of Malacca against Japanese maritime strategic from the year 2001-2015; 2) Analyse strategic challenges in the maritime navigation and maritime safety aspects in straits of Malacca to Japan and 3) analyze the relevance of Japan's contribution and cooperation with the littoral states in maritime safety and security aspects in the Straits of Malacca. The findings reveal that Straits of Malacca is an important waterways to Japan from strategic aspect (including safety of navigation and maritime security). Japanese government and NGOs have shown their concern and commitment to cooperate in several aspects like exercises and technical to Littoral States. The financial aids has given to Littoral States through Straits of Malacca Council so that it will reduce the high expenses of management.

Indonesia and Malaysia are often considered as kins. The perspective has been influencing the relationship between the two which has been shaped by identity discourse. History, however, proved that geostrategic considerations determined the relationship of the two significantly in the past. This article aims to discuss the Indonesia-Malaysia relationship in the past from geostrategic perspective, and to discuss how are the prospects of the relationship in the Maritime Axis era.  This article argues, the relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia is not only determined by identity factors, but also geostrategic ones. Most scholars think  that the relationship of the two are the result of culture politicization, but the author sees that geostrategic factors, which is Malaka as one of the center of gravity, are very determinant.

The Southeast Asian spice trade involved an evolving network of trade as well as the meaning of the term "spice". This paper takes a snapshot of the spice trade in Southeast Asia at large as well as specifically in the royal Johorese capital Batu Sawar around the year 1600. The backbone for this study is formed by hitherto unknown or sparsely known materials that include so-called rutters as well as the Batu Sawar factory records of the Dutch East India Company