Malaysia is a maritime country located in Southeast Asia, consisting of two major land areas, Peninsular Malaysia (West Malaysia) and Malaysian Borneo (East Malaysia).
These are separated by the South China Sea, which is a part of the Pacific Ocean.
The Strait of Malacca located next to East Peninsular Malaysia acts as a border between the territories of Malaysia and Indonesia.
The seas in Malaysia cover a total area of 334,000 km, which is 5000 km2more than the land area (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012).
The water regions make a significant economic contribution to the country.
The Strait of Malacca channels between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, allowing shipping activities along the waterway (Soon and Lam, 2013).
In addition, the waterways, which are rich in biodiversity, contribute greatly to fisheries, wildlife habitats, ecotourism and economic development of the nation (Ahmad and Hanley, 2009).