NewsTracker Answers for week of Apr 28, 2014

Q: Armed pirates have raided an oil tanker sailing in the Malacca Strait - between western Malaysia and Indonesia - and abducted three crew members. Where is the Malacca Strait on this map?

Circle the area on this map

Q: The Japanese oil tanker was sailing to Burma from Singapore when it was boarded by pirates who stole about half its oil. Which direction would the tanker have been traveling through the strait?

A. Northeast

B. Southeast

C. Southwest

D. Northwest

D. The city-state of Singapore lies off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and is on the southeastern end of the Malacca Strait. To reach Burma, a ship would travel northwest through the strait into the Andaman Sea.

Q: The Andaman Sea is part of which ocean?

A. Atlantic

B. Pacific

C. Indian

D. Southern

C. The Malacca Strait is the primary shipping route connecting the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Indian Ocean to the west. As one of the world's major shipping lanes, it has been an attractive target for pirates throughout history.

Q: Which rival European powers colonized the region to exploit the spice trade but agreed to join forces to battle 19th century pirates in the strait?

A. Spain and Portugal

B. Britain and Holland

C. Germany and Italy

D. France and Belgium

B. The nations drew a demarcation line along the strait and agreed to fight against piracy on their own side of the line – the British on the peninsula and Dutch on the island of Sumatra. This demarcation would eventually become the modern-day border between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Q: Besides sharing a maritime border on Malacca Strait, Malaysia and Indonesia have a land border on a large island east of the strait. What is the name of the island?

A. Borneo

B. Java

C. New Guinea

D. Sulawesi

A. Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and is divided among three countries -- Brunei and Malaysia on the north, and Indonesia to the south.