Sea navigation, challenges and potentials in South East Asia: an assessment of suitable sites for a shipping canal in the South Thai Isthmus

This paper discusses the situation of sea navigation in south East Asia focusing on the Strait of Malacca. The strait links the Indian and Pacific oceans, which is considered one of the busiest in several narrow channels around the world. The paper highlights the significance of the strait to global maritime trade, volume of traffic, and rising environmental and social consequences in the strait. A feasibility study of constructing a new shipping canal in the South Thai Kra Isthmus as an alternative option of Malacca route had been studied since 19th century. The paper explores suitable sites for a potential shipping canal in the Kra Isthmus using physiographic spatial data i.e., elevation, sea charts, geology, soils and river systems. Each spatial data was considered as a separate decision variable for site evaluation. Separate evaluation criterions were prepared for each variable based on shipping canal requirements. Overlaying the maps in GIS environment, the variables were carefully evaluated, and five geographic sites for the canal were derived. The length of the shipping canal over sea and land was computed for each site. Site B located in south of Ranong and Chumphon provinces, was the shortest one, whereas site C in Surat Thani, Pangnna and Krabi provinces was the longest. However, each site consisted of benefits and constraints.     

Multilateralism in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore

This paper analyzes International Maritime Organization (IMO) involvement in maritime cooperation regime in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore through multilateralism. It begins by introducing the maritime cooperation regime prior to 2001, which was mainly trilateral in nature through Tripartite Technical Expert Group on the Safety of Navigation (TTEG). Although TTEG managed to increase the level of safety of navigation in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore through the implementation of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in 1981 and Mandatory Ship Reporting System (STRAITREP) in 1998, such cooperation was beset by financial strain and conflict of interests. Subsequently, there was a change in the cooperation regime after 9/11 incident. This paper identifies that the change was contributed by the IMO through a methodology called multilateralism. Three important principles were adopted by IMO in implementing multilateralism in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, namely generalized principles of conduct (respect for sovereignty and compliance with burden sharing principle under Article 43 of UNCLOS 1982), diffuse reciprocity, and indivisibility. This paper concludes that multilateralism by IMO has transformed trilateral cooperation into multilateral cooperation in the Straits of Malacca, combining state actors (littoral states and user states) and non-state actors (non-governmental organizations and international shipping industries).     

台湾海峡船舶定线制设计的数据空间处理与分析

船舶定线制是指定船舶在水上某些区域航行时所遵循或采用的航线、航路或通航分道的一种制度,是水上交通繁忙区域实施有效管理的主要手段,是对航路合理规划、有效利用的重要方法,代表着水上船舶航行秩序管理的发展方向。本文针对台湾海峡船舶定线制设计中对船舶交通数据的空间处理及分析需求,经过大量实测数据分析和实践验证,提出了一些符合台湾海峡船舶定线制设计的数据空间处理及分析方法,并就船舶定线制推荐方案的空间表达形式作了简要介绍。     

SPATIAL VARIATION OF Zn GEOCHEMICAL FRACTIONS IN THE SURFACE SEDIMENTS OF THE STRAITS OF MALACCA: NATURAL OR ANTHROPOGENIC?

1INTRODUCTION Studiesonheavymetalcontaminationinsedi mentshavealwaysbeenfocusedonthecoastalandin tertidalareas(Sivalingam,etal.,1980;Ismail,1993;Ismail,etal.,1993;IsmailandRosniza,1997;Yap,etal.,2002a,2002b).Theheavymet alconcentrationsfoundinthesediments…     

Spatial distribution and behavior of dissolved selenium speciation in the South China Sea and Malacca Straits during spring inter-monsoon period

Selenium(Se) has been recognized as a key trace element that is associated with growth of primary producers in oceans. During March and May 2018, surface water(67 samples) was collected and measured by HG-ICP-MS to investigate the distribution and behavior of selenite [Se(IV)], selenate [Se(VI)] and dissolved organic selenides(DOSe) concentrations in the Zhujiang River Estuary(ZRE), South China Sea(SCS) and Malacca Straits(MS). It showed that Se(IV)(0.14–3.44 nmol/L) was the dominant chemical species in the ZRE, related to intensive manufacture in the watershed; while the major species shifted to DOSe(0.05–0.79 nmol/L) in the MS, associated with the wide coverage of peatland and intensive agriculture activities in the Malaysian Peninsula. The SCS was identified as the northern and southern sections(NSCS and SSCS) based on the variations of surface circulation.The insignificant variation of Se(IV) in the NSCS and SSCS was obtained in March, potentially resulting from the high chemical activity and related preferential assimilation by phytoplankton communities. Contrastively, the lower DOSe concentrations in the SSCS likely resulted from higher primary production and utilization during March. During May, the concentration of Se(IV) remained low in the NSCS and SSCS, while DOSe concentrations increased notably in the SSCS, likely due to the impact of terrestrial inputs from surface current reversal and subsequent accumulation. On a global scale, DOSe is the dominant Se species in tropical oceans, while Se(IV) and Se(VI) are major fractions in high-latitude oceans, resulting from changes in predominated phytoplankton and related biological assimilation.     

印度洋通道及其对中国地缘环境影响

印度洋通道是中国获取能源和其他资源、出口工业产品并同南亚、西亚、非洲和欧洲国家交流合作的生命线。随着中美关系和中国周边地缘态势的深刻变化,中国需要积极谋划逐渐降低对传统的南海—马六甲海峡通道的依赖,建设新的印度洋通道,从而降低自身的地缘环境风险,并由此优化国内经济发展布局,推动西南沿边地区进一步开发与开放,并提升中国同印度洋沿岸国家和地区的交流与合作水平。本研究从通道的定义和特征出发,梳理了现有及潜在的印度洋通道,比较分析了各条通道的战略意义、前景及地缘环境影响,从而为中国的印度洋战略构建和“一带一路”倡议推进提供新的视角和见解。     

开发克拉运河的VRTS分析及启示

在"一带一路"与"两洋战略"背景下,基于各种目标的战略与工程被大量提出,并进行了论证。其中关于开发克拉运河的提议,被认为具有破解"马六甲困局"的重大意义。对此,本文运用VRTS分析法,从战略价值、战略风险和开发时机、开发(时序)策略四方面进行综合分析,指出该提议存在战略价值高估、战略风险低估,以及战略时机误判和战略时序安排不够合理等问题,建议暂时搁置,并探索其他可行替代方案。本文关于开发克拉运河的分析,对于其他战略项目论证也有一定参考意义。     

闽粤沿海地震形势的初步分析

本文从地震学和地震地质学角度出发，讨论海峡７．３级地震对东南沿海地震带活动性的影响。着重分析了海峡７．３级震前的背景空区及其震后演变过程，并采用各种方法对闽粤沿海地区进行了时空扫描分析，提取异常指标。预测该地区未来地震活动的趋势，对缩小未来可能发生破坏性地震的时间、地点、强度范围具有一定的意义。