Q. Between India and East Asia, the navigation-time and distance can be greatly reduced by which of the following?- Deepening the Malacca straits between Malaysia and Indonesia.
- Opening a new canal across the Kra isthmus between the Gulf of Siam and Andaman Sea.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (UPSC Prelims 2011)
Answer:
Both 1 and 2
Notes: The correct answer is
2 only. To understand why, we have to look at the geography of the maritime "choke point" known as the Strait of Malacca and the proposed alternatives.
- Deepening the Malacca Straits (Statement 1 is Incorrect): The Strait of Malacca is already the primary shipping lane between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. While deepening the strait might allow larger ships (with deeper drafts) to pass through, it does not change the distance or the geographic path a ship must take. A ship still has to sail all the way down around the Malay Peninsula and back up into the South China Sea. Therefore, it does not reduce navigation time or distance; it only increases the capacity for larger vessels.
- The Kra Canal Project (Statement 2 is Correct): The Kra Isthmus is the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula in Thailand. Opening a canal here (similar to the Suez or Panama Canals) would allow ships to bypass the entire Malay Peninsula and the Strait of Malacca. This "shortcut" would connect the Andaman Sea directly to the Gulf of Thailand (Gulf of Siam), cutting the journey by approximately 1,200 kilometers and saving several days of navigation time.