Changi Airport Fuel Hydrant Installation Jetty 2007-10-03 retouched

The Johor Strait (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Straits of Johor, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach, also spelled Johore Strait) is an international

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, between

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia, historically known as Malaya and also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of the Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the list of isla ...

Geography

The strait separates the

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n state of

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

on the mainland

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

to the north, from

and its islands on the south. It connects to the

Strait of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...

on the west, and the

Singapore Strait The Singapore Strait is a , strait between the Strait of Malacca in the west and the South China Sea in the east. Singapore is on the north of the channel, and the Indonesian Riau Islands are on the south. The two countries share a maritime ...

on the southeast. The mouth and delta of the

Johor River The Johor River () is the main river in the Malaysian state of Johor. The 122.7 km long river has a drainage basin of 2,636 km2 and flows in a roughly north–south direction, originating from Mount Gemuruh and then empties into the St ...

is on its northeast side in Malaysia.

Crossings

There are currently two bridges crossing the strait. The

Johor–Singapore Causeway The Johor–Singapore Causeway is a causeway consisting of a combined railway and motorway crossing that links Malaysia's second largest city of Johor Bahru across the Straits of Johor to the district and town of Woodlands in Singapore. It ...

, known simply as "The Causeway", links

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

and Woodlands in Singapore. The

Malaysia–Singapore Second Link The Malaysia–Singapore Second Link (, zh, 馬新第二通道) is a bridge connecting Singapore and Johor, Malaysia. In Singapore, it is officially known as the Tuas Second Link. The bridge was built to reduce the traffic congestion at the Jo ...

bridge is further west over the strait, links

Iskandar Puteri Iskandar Puteri (formerly known as Nusajaya) is a Cities of Malaysia, city and the administrative capital of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is situated along the Straits of Johor at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula and the southernmos ...

in Malaysia and

Tuas Tuas ( ) is a planning area located within the West Region of Singapore. It is bounded by the Western Water Catchment to its north, Pioneer to its east and the Straits of Johor to its west. Tuas also shares a maritime boundary with the Weste ...

in Singapore. In 2003, Malaysia wanted to build a bridge across the strait to replace the existing causeway, but negotiations with Singapore were not successful. The main reasons cited for the change were: # a bridge would allow free flow of water across both sides of the strait which were artificially cut in two with the building of the causeway before (this would allow ships to bypass the port of Singapore). # a bridge would help ease congestion in

. In August 2003, Malaysia announced that it was going ahead with a plan to build a gently sloping, curved bridge that would join up with Singapore's half of the existing causeway. The plans included a swing bridge for the railway line. However, plans to build the bridge have been called off by Malaysia as of 2006 after Singapore said it was amenable to the bridge if the negotiations include other bilateral matters such as the use of Malaysian airspace by Singapore's air force and the buying of water and sand resources from Malaysia. Malaysia viewed Singapore's proposal as a compromise on its sovereignty. Other proposed crossings include

Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System , , , , , The Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link is an international cross-border rapid transit system that will connect Malaysia's second largest city, Johor Bahru and Woodlands, Singapore, Woodlands, Si ...

and

Kuala Lumpur–Singapore high-speed rail The Kuala Lumpur–Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) is a proposed railway project to link Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Singapore via a high-speed rail line. It was first proposed by then Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in September 2010. Sing ...

. Both of which would have started construction in 2019 but have since been delayed due to the change of political administration in Malaysia in 2018 and the ongoing efforts to reduce national debts incurred previously under Najib Razak's administration.

Tributaries

Major tributaries which empty into the Strait of Johore include: *

* Pelentong River *

Pulai River The Pulai River () is a river in Johor, Malaysia. It runs from Mount Pulai in Kulai District until Tanjung Pelepas, draining into the Tebrau Straits. At its mouth lies the single largest seagrass bed in Malaysia, which extends all the way to ...

* Segget River * Tebrau River * Sungai Sengkuang * Sungai Haji Rahmat * Sungai Kempas * Sungai Sri Buntan * Sungai Abd Samad * Sungai Air Molek * Sungai Stulang * Sungai Setanggong * Sungai Tampoi * Sungai Sebulong * Sungai Bala * Sungai Pandan * Sungai Tengkorak * Sungai Senibong In the

Malay language Malay ( , ; , Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken primarily by Malays (ethnic group), Malays in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Malay Peninsula on the mainland Asia. The lang ...

, ''Sungai'' is the word for river.

Ecology

Pollution along the Johore Strait is notable. The area is also a source of environmental contention between Malaysia and Singapore, due to

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

projects on both sides of the Causeway. There have been suggestions that the ongoing land reclamation projects may impact the

maritime boundary A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of Earth's water surface areas using physiographical or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...

, shipping lanes, and water ecology of the Malaysian side. Environmental Impact Assessments are requested before any reclamation is carried out such as the Forest City project. Reclamation projects may also endanger the habitat and food source of

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest ...

s, which are native to the strait.

History

The Johore Strait is the location of two

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

deeds. The award was for

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Ian Edward Fraser Ian Edward Fraser, (18 December 1920 – 1 September 2008) was an English diving pioneer, sailor and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth force ...

and Acting

Leading Seaman Leading seaman is a junior non-commissioned rank or rate in navies, particularly those of the Commonwealth. When it is used by NATO nations, leading seaman has the rank code of OR-4. It is often equivalent to the army and air force rank of ...

James Joseph Magennis James Joseph Magennis, VC (27 October 1919 – 12 February 1986) was a Belfast-born sailor and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

for the sinking of the 9,850-tonne Japanese cruiser ''Takao'' on 31 July 1945.

Places of interest

A well known tourist attraction of the Strait of Johore's is Lido Beach, located on the Malaysian side in

. Here, visitors can walk or cycle along the 2 km stretch of the beach. There are numerous restaurants and food stalls.

References

External links

{{Authority control

Straits of the South China Sea

Malaysia–Singapore border Peninsular Malaysia Strait of Malacca