Geography - note:
major chokepoints include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Strait
of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok Strait
Economy Indian Ocean
Economy - overview:
The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle
East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries
a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products
from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are
of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for
domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan,
South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for
shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in
the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western
Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production
comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and
offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering
countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
and Thailand.
Transportation Indian Ocean
Ports and harbors:
Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South
Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne
(Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), Richards Bay (South Africa)
Transnational Issues Indian Ocean
Disputes - international: some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
======================================================================
@Indonesia