世界的咽喉 · THE WORLD'S NARROWS
A Quarter of World Trade, Through a Funnel — Malaysia · Indonesia · Singapore
马六甲海峡是印度洋与太平洋之间最短的海路——全球约四分之一的海运货物经此通过，而它最窄处的航道还不足 3 公里宽。
地理把全世界的东西向货运逼进苏门答腊与马来半岛之间这道唯一的缝隙；绕行别无更快之途。六百年来，谁坐拥这道漏斗——先是马六甲的苏丹，继而葡萄牙、荷兰、英国，如今是新加坡——便靠向过往船只征税、供给而致富。一条无法绕开的海峡，就是一条可以收费的海峡。
The Strait of Malacca is the shortest sea route between the Indian and Pacific Oceans — and roughly a quarter of all goods traded by sea pass through it, squeezing at one point to a channel under 3 km wide.
Geography forces the world's east–west cargo into a single slot between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula; there is no faster way round. For six hundred years whoever sat on this funnel — Malacca's sultans, then Portugal, the Dutch, the British, now Singapore — grew rich taxing and serving the ships. A strait you cannot avoid is a strait you can charge for.