The Singapore and Melaka Straits are a place where regional and long-distance maritime trading networks converge, linking Europe, the Mediterranean, eastern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent with key centres of trade in Thailand, Indochina, insular Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan. The first half of the 17th century brought heightened political, commercial and diplomatic activity to this region. It had long been clear to both the Portuguese and the Dutch that whoever controlled the waters off modern Singapore gained a firm grip on regional as well as long-distance intra-Asian trade. By the early 1600s Portuguese power and prestige were waning and the arrival of the Dutch East India Company constituted a major threat. Moreover, the rapid expansion and growing power of the Acehnese Empire, and rivalry between Johor and Aceh, was creating a new context for European trade in Asia.

This thesis analyzes the military capabilities of Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia and assesses their collective ability to control the use of the Straits of Malacca and the Singapore Straits. With steadily growing economies as a source of funding, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia have made significant improvements in their military stature. Collectively, they can control this vital passage, preventing both military and commercial shipping from using these straits. These three littoral nations' key interests that might lead them to restrict and deny the use of the Malacca Straits are identified. Their military force composition and capability also is reviewed.