Sunda Strait

From Free net encyclopedia

The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean.

It is about 30 km wide at its narrowest point, which is at the north end, but this is a short section, about 30 km long, and then it opens out to about 100 km for another 100 km. There are a number of small islands in the strait; the volcano Krakatoa is located on one of them.

The strait is an important shipping channel; it and the Strait of Malacca are the main passages from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean. The Sunda Strait is much shorter than the Malacca Strait, but is narrower and contains more dangerous rocks. Both bottlenecks have long been plagued by pirates.

On March 1, 1942, the Battle of Sunda Strait was fought here. A Japanese force commanded by Rear Admiral Kenzaburo Hara sank the Allied cruisers USS Houston and HMAS Perth as they attempted to prevent Japanese landings on Java.de:Sundastraße et:Sunda väin es:Estrecho de Sunda id:Selat Sunda nl:Straat Soenda ja:スンダ海峡 pl:Cieśnina Sundajska su:Selat Sunda fi:Sundasalmi