What strait between Malaysia and Indonesia is a major shipping route?

The Strait between Malaysia and Indonesia that serves as a major shipping route is the Strait of Malacca. It runs between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, linking the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea and the wider Pacific trade network.

The waterway is roughly 900 kilometres long, but some sections are narrow and shallow. Its position makes it one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints: ships traveling between the Indian Ocean and East Asia can avoid the much longer route around the Indonesian archipelago. Singapore sits at the strait's southeastern entrance and developed into a major global port partly because of this geography.

The name is associated with Malacca, the historic trading city and sultanate on the Malaysian coast. A common mix-up is the Sunda Strait, which lies farther south between Sumatra and Java. The Strait of Hormuz is another major oil route, but it connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman rather than separating Malaysia and Indonesia.