Shipping lanes off Indonesia may seem irrelevant to the West. But at stake is part of an ancient promise to Abraham that his seed would possess the "gates of their enemies."
by Darris McNeely
Events in the South Pacific may seem
irrelevant to the West, but could bring significant changes affecting
both American naval influence and continued freedom of shipping through
a critical world sea passage.
Not long ago the United States turned over
the Panama Canal to the Republic of Panama, thus relinquishing control
of a major passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific shipping lanes. Many
observers saw little significance behind this event, since today's Internet-dominated
global economy seems little impacted by ocean-borne commerce. One pundit
commented, "Windows 2000 travels over the Internet not on the deck of
a ship."
Now, another vital sea passage in an increasingly
unsettled region of the world could come under the control of powers with
different views than those of Western nations.
A strategic Asian passage
The Strait of Malacca is one of the world's
crucial strategic choke points. Many experts consider it a vulnerable
objective of any hostile power seeking regional control and influence
upon the Western economies.
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow waterway
between Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Virtually all commercial
sea traffic between the Far East and Europe, the Middle East and India
passes through the Strait. All fuel and gas shipments purchased from the
Persian Gulf for the Far East pass through there. Moreover, Singapore-the
regional commercial and communication center, and a key port, lies at
the eastern mouth of the Strait.
Today more than 60,000 ships a year pass through
the Strait. Within four years that number could go as high as 100,000-thus
showing the need for regional stability to insure free passage for ships
of all nations. Yet, the region has historically been plagued by animosities
of ethnic and religious bias, demands for scarce resources and, in the
post-colonial period, poor government. The American Navy recognizes the
value of the waterway to its projection of power from the Persian Gulf
to the South China Sea and further east in the Pacific.
