After weeks with the Strait of Hormuz on everyone’s lips, the Strait of Malacca comes into view after a suggestion from an Indonesian minister that it tax shipping traffic. As one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, with a huge share of global trade and energy passing through it, any ambiguity over its status has consequences. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it is also a route that the world has the right to use. This balance is now being tested. So the question is - who really gets to decide what happens?Image Credit: Shutterstock
