What is the name of the strait between the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra?

The strait between the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra is the Strait of Malacca.

This roughly 900-kilometre waterway separates the Malay Peninsula to the northeast from Sumatra, Indonesia, to the southwest. It connects the Andaman Sea, part of the Indian Ocean, with the South China Sea, providing a major maritime link between the Indian and Pacific oceans.

The strait has been a strategic trade route for centuries. Regional powers including the Srivijaya Empire and the Malacca Sultanate benefited from controlling ports and commerce along it, especially the spice trade between Asian, Indian, Arab, and Chinese merchants. Today it remains one of the world’s most important shipping corridors for energy and manufactured goods.

The Sunda Strait lies farther south, between Sumatra and Java, so it is an easy geographic mix-up. Lombok Strait is east of Java and Bali, while Torres Strait separates Australia from New Guinea. The name Malacca is associated with Melaka, the historic port city and sultanate on the Malay Peninsula.