1. All Roads Lead to the Indian Ocean
- Author:
- Sumathy Permal
- Publication Date:
- 01-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Maritime Institute of Malaysia
- Abstract:
- The Indian Ocean (IO) is the world’s third largest ocean with an area of 73.5 million sq. km or 28.5 million sq. miles. It is strategically located adjacent to Asia in the North, Australia to the East, Antarctica to the South, and Africa to the West. IO forms two large indentations in South Asia, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The ocean can be accessed through several chokepoints i.e., from the West via Cape of Good Hope and the Straits of Madagascar, from the North via the Bab el-Mandeb at the end of the Red Sea; the Sunda and Lombok-Straits and the Ombai-Wetar-Straits and the Straits of Hormuz at the exit of the Persian Gulf, from the East via the Straits of Malacca and, by way of geographical extension, to the South China Sea.
- Topic:
- Security, International Law, International Trade and Finance, and Maritime Commerce
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Malaysia, Asia, Arabia, and Kobani