What strait lies between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra?

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

The Strait of Malacca is a roughly 900-kilometre-long waterway between mainland Southeast Asia and Sumatra. It links the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea and the Pacific, making it one of the world’s most important maritime corridors.

Its strategic importance is centuries old. The Srivijaya empire controlled parts of the region from the 7th century, while the Malacca Sultanate became a major commercial power in the 15th century by benefiting from trade between India, Arabia, China, and the Indonesian archipelago. Singapore later emerged near the strait as a major global port.

A frequent mix-up is the Sunda Strait, which separates Sumatra from Java. The Lombok Strait and Makassar Strait lie farther east in Indonesia. The Malacca passage is also relatively shallow at points, helping define the maximum ship size known as Malaccamax.