Heiwanese Straits

The **Heiwanese Straits** (Chinese: 黑湾海峽/黑灣海峽, Malay: *Selat Heiwan*, (Indonesian): *Selat Heiwan*) or **Straits of Heiwan** are two narrow stretches of water - the Upper Heiwanese Strait and Lower Heiwanese Strait - between the Malay Peninsula and the (peninsula south of Heiwan), forming the boundary between the continents of Tivia and Nangia. As the main shipping channel between the Orlog Ocean and the Vredian Ocean, it is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. It is named after the First Heiwan Settlement and the later Republic of Heiwan, both centered on the Heiwan Island which is flanked by the straits. However, the straits previously went by multiple names, traditionally named after coastal countries which bordered the straits before the settlement of Heiwan Island.

## History

Early traders from Sancteria, Meridia, and the Southern Tivian kingdoms travelled through the Upper and Lower Heiwanese Straits, in order to reach coastal towns on the (Malay) Peninsula and the (southern peninsula) respectively acting as entrepots. Such towns provided accommodations, porters, repair services - local merchants typically purchasing goods from foreign traders and reselling them inland at a profit. Traders from China arrived around the same time to such towns from the opposite direction.

Around the 7th century, traders began to utilize the Heiwanese Straits itself as a trade route, coinciding with the rise of the Tang Dynasty and Suvarnan kingdoms in the same time period. With this change, coastal towns had the additional purpose of providing accommodations for merchant vessels as they waited for the seasonal reversal of local monsoon winds to aid in sailing to their destinations. Competition between Malay and North Nangian entrepots would result in the funding of privateers to intercept and raid trade sailing through rival shipping channels, resulting in a rise in pirate activity in the region. Piracy in the Heiwanese Straits reached its peak around the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as a direct consequence of the Flood Century period in Chinese history, during which open conflict between major maritime Chinese states contributed to general lawlessness in the South China Sea.

In the late 17th century, the settlement of Heiwan Island as a trade port by Chinese merchants would usher in direct competition with Malay and North Nangian entrepots, the straits themselves becoming a point of contention between the powers that neighbor it. With an increase of Chinese interests in the straits, the elimination of local piracy became a priority. This subsequently led to a transition from proxy warfare through privateers to open warfare, though the involvement of Chinese states kept conflicts that may have affected shipping through the straits minor.

The importance of the Heiwanese Straits in global trade networks continued well into later centuries and even to modernity, nowadays a chokepoint for maritime trade between Altumia and East Tivia alongside the (Suez) Canal.

## Economic significance

From an economic and strategic perspective, the Heiwanese Straits are among the most important shipping lanes in the world.

The strait is the main shipping channel between the Orlog Ocean and the Vredian Ocean, linking major Tivian and Nangian economies in China, Suvarna, Southeast Tivia, and North Nangia. Goods that primarily travel through the straits include oil, Chinese and Nangian manufactured products, coal, and palm oil. A significant percentage of oil carried by sea goes through the straits, mainly from Sancteria and surrounding oil producing countries to East Tivian markets. In addition, it is also one of the world's most congested shipping chokepoints due to its narrow nature. As a result, some opt to take the alternate route through the Hyperaustralis Channel south of the Heiwanese Straits to avoid traffic.

## Shipping hazards

Piracy has been an issue around the straits throughout its history. While the narrow nature of the straits makes interception of shipping there near impossible without immediate detection, piracy is historically rampant in the openings of the straits and their surroundings. The Acadian Stock Market Crash in 1996 and consequent economic crises in Tivia would cause a sudden increase in piracy in the region lasting till the early 2000s, ending with the recovery of local economies and the mobilization of regional navies to curtail piracy. Attacks have dropped to negligible levels in recent years.

The narrow and congested nature of the straits poses a collision hazard to vessels that travel its waters. The presence of oil tankers in the straits increases the potential damage of a collision if one was to occur.