Trapped by the Strait of Malacca? There are wolves before there are tigers, see how China can find another way to break the dilemma
Some time ago, on the issue of the opening of the Carla Canal, we mentioned the dilemma in Malacca. Today, we will talk specifically about the dilemma in Malacca. Let's look at the location of the Strait of Malacca, why is it so important to China, and why are we trapped by it?
The Strait of Malacca is located between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra Island, connecting the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, with a total length of about 1080km, a long strait, governed by Singapore and Malaysia and Indonesia, the Strait of Malacca has a history of more than 2,000 years of navigation, and ships from East Asian countries must enter the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Malacca if they want to enter the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. Historically, the Strait of Malacca has been occupied many times, and it can be said that it has been a place of contention since ancient times. It can be said that controlling here is, in a sense, equivalent to controlling East Asia. Today, with the rapid economic development of East Asian countries, the foreign trade volume of the three economic powers of China, Japan and South Korea is immeasurable, and according to statistics, in 2015, an average of 222 ships with 300 gross tons per day passed. We all know that Singapore, one of the four Asian tigers, is now also relying on this strait to make a lot of money. The Strait of Malacca has become a presence on par with the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal. For our part, most of the oil we import from the Middle East, and a large amount of goods exported to the Middle East and Europe, are largely dependent on waterways and have to go through the Strait of Malacca. Although we Chinese in Singapore make up the majority, in fact, Singapore does not have a good relationship with us, on the contrary, he is particularly close to the United States. The Narrowest part of the entire strait, Singapore, is garrisoned with American troops, and it can be said that the United States can cut off this route at any time, and India behind it is not a good stubble. So we in China, we have to find another way out. Some people say, ah, from the map, we can also go to the Indonesian side to the Indian Ocean, why not go from that side. In fact, in detail, because the hydrological conditions in the Indian Ocean are very bad and the waves are particularly large, only large ships dare to walk through the Lombok Strait. The boat will roll over when it goes in.
Much of the coastline along the Indian Ocean is straight, and that's because of the wash of strong waves. Moreover, relative to the Strait of Malacca, the waterways on the Indonesian side are immature in terms of facilities, safety, passability, and even direction. So for most ships, the safest and most economical route is through the Strait of Malacca, north through the Andaman Islands, along the Indian coastline into the Indian Ocean, straight to Sri Lanka, and then around the Red Sea, taking the Suez Canal (which is also a very important waterway for Sino-European trade). In layman's terms, the Strait of Malacca is a 10-lane highway, and the Strait of Indonesia is full of rocky and muddy rural dirt roads, as well as wild dogs.
So, now we have to mention our protagonists today, yes, Xinjiang. If you say that the Strait of Malacca is a maritime crossroads, then Xinjiang is the crossroads of Eurasia, Xinjiang is the largest provincial administrative region in China, bordering eight countries, is an important node of the ancient Silk Road, and is also the place where the second Eurasian land bridge must pass. It is an extremely important node in the construction of our Belt and Road Initiative. Xinjiang is blocked by the Altai Mountains and the Pamir Plateau, and the only way out of xinjiang is in the Khorgos region. Here to go out to Central Asia and even Europe, the road is relatively flat. Now our country has leased the Gwadar port in Pakistan and has also built a China-Pakistan railway. In this way, the oil we import from the Middle East and even Africa can reach China from the Indian Ocean to the port of Gwadar and then through the China-Pakistan railway we built. This would allow for the bypass of India and would not have to be confined to the Strait of Malacca. At this point, some people will worry, so what if Pakistan does not cooperate with us. Haha, how do you think the name of Pakistan Railway came from, in fact, as long as India is there, the relationship between Pakistan and our country will not change. So we don't have to worry about that. Therefore, it is very necessary to vigorously develop Xinjiang now.
Now that the gap between the rich and the poor in China is too big, another important problem has occurred while our economy is growing rapidly, and yes, it is overcapacity. Due to the highly developed east, we have produced more products than we need. There will be a lot of problems, some people will say, then we will produce less, that is not OK, then there will be many people facing unemployment, will also bring a very bad impact on society. So how do we do it? Yes, it is the large-scale development of the western region, poverty alleviation, and road construction. There are also roads for some less developed countries, no money is fine, we lend you, and then help you build. In this way, we also solved our excess capacity and gained fame and fortune. That is our solution. That's why we won't be trapped in Malacca. What do you think?