Between India and East Asia, the navigation-time and distance can be greatly reduced by which of the following ?
1. Deepening the Malacca straits between Malaysia and Indonesia.
2. Opening a new canal across the Kra Isthmus between the Gulf of Siam and Andaman Sea. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
(a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2
(b) Opening a new canal in Kra Isthums can reduce the navigation time and distance. The first statement in this question requires an explanation. Its worth note that the Malacca strait is the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and links the India, China, Japan and South Korea. The issue of deepening of the Malacca strait is “linked” to its economic importance rather than “time of navigation and distance”. The issue is that most of the ships can not pass through it and the size of the biggest ships which can enter through it is called Malaccamax. Now the deepening of the strait would certainly help in “Increasing the volume of the business” because ships of larger sizes can pass through it, there is no significance of distance and navigation.