Essay
The Strait of Malacca: Through the Rise and Fall of Thalassocracies

By : Arunansh B. Goswami

Page No: 32-50

Abstract
The Malacca Strait has a long and intricate history of rivalry among maritime powers and continues to be of significant geopolitical and geoeconomic relevance. This strait serves as the most direct maritime route between the Middle East and East Asia, effectively minimising both transportation time and costs across this large geographical expanse. Approximately 60 percent of global maritime trade passes through this corridor. Both the United States and China have large trade, maritime and strategic interests around the Strait and have significant naval presence spanning the Indo-Pacific region. The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), established in October 2001, with its headquarters in Port Blair, is India’s first integrated theatre command. It was formed to protect India’s strategic interests in Southeast Asia and the Strait of Malacca. This essay draws from the author’s research on Malacca and various regions of Malaysia, where he travelled and examined the historical context of the rivalry between rival major maritime powers in the region.

Author
Arunansh B. Goswami is a historian and lawyer residing in India. He is the head of the Scindia Research Centre, a think tank associated with the Scindia royal family of Gwalior, and also holds the position of Expert Fellow at the Orbeli Center, which is linked to the Government of Armenia. He has authored more than a hundred articles on law, history, and foreign policy.
 

DOI: http://doi.org/10.32381/NS.2026.09.01.3