The Malacca Straits Conundrum and India Cdr Gurpreet S Khurana Paper presented at the 9 th Asian Security Conference, February 9-10, 2007, New Delhi Evolving Security Dynamics in Southeast Asia – Emerging Threats and Responses Map: The Straits of Malacca and Singapore Introduction The geographic centrality of archipelagic Southeast Asia has led to its waterways assuming immense criticality for global maritime communications. The sea-route transiting the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SoM) is the busiest in the world, through which, about a quarter of the world trade passes every year aboard nearly 70,000 vessels. Besides, with about half of the world's oil and two-third of its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) flowing through it, the waterway also encloses the ‘lifelines’ for energy- dependent economies in East Asia. Given the global phenomenon of intensifying economic interdependence among states, it is not surprising that the volume of mercantile traffic passing through the SoM has been increasing over the years, leading to its growing geo-strategic significance. The stakes of the three adjoining littoral states (Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore) in the Straits are even greater. Like many others, these countries have embarked upon export-led development, which makes SoM critical for maritime commerce. Besides, the waterway is also their maritime zones, from where vital living and non-living resources are sourced. These states have also been promoting tourism to supplement their economic growth, which has led to a significant increase of cruise-liners