What are Alternatives to Strait of Malacca?
Map of the Strait of Malacca, a potential bottleneck for Chinese ships in case of tensions with Washington
The Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s largest chokepoints, carries roughly 30% of global maritime oil flows, making it a potential flashpoint for a new energy crisis.What are the alternatives to the strait in the event of closure?
Maritime Routes
Three Pacific chokepoints in the Indonesian archipelago offer longer, costlier detours: Sunda Strait (minimum width ~24 km) Lombok and Makassar Straits (~20 km) Ombai–Wetar Straits near Timor (~27 km) Northern Sea Route (NSR), a Russian Arctic shipping lane, offers an alternative path for energy shipments to Asia 
AnalysisHormuz Crisis’ Spread to Bab al-Mandab, Strait of Malacca Would Wipe Out the World Economy20 April, 17:30 GMT
Land-based Routes
1.Thailand Land Bridge: Proposed 90 km rail/road/pipeline link across the Kra Isthmus connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans 2.China–Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC): Oil pipelines linking the Indian Ocean to China via Myanmar. However, its capacity – 442,000 barrels of oil per day is a far cry from 23.2 million bpd flowing through the Malacca Strait 3.China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC): Proposed 3,600 km pipeline from Gwadar Port to China’s Xinjiang (capacity ~1 million bpd) None of the proposed routes can presently fully replace the Malacca Strait—leaving it a critical global chokepoint.
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