Australasian Mediterranean Sea

The Australasian Mediterranean Sea is a mediterranean sea located in the area between Southeast Asia and Australasia.^[1] It connects the Indian and Pacific oceans.^[2] It has a maximum depth of 7,440 m^[3] and a surface area of 9.08 mil. km².

Australasian Mediterranean Sea
Australasian Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates	6.5°S 123.9°E / -6.5; 123.9
Type	Sea
Basin countries	List  Australia  Brunei  Cambodia  China  Indonesia  Malaysia  Palau  Papua New Guinea  Philippines  Singapore  Taiwan  Thailand  Timor-Leste  Vietnam
Surface area	9,080,000 km2 (3,510,000 sq mi)
Max. depth	7,440 m (24,410 ft)

Geography

Australasian shoveler swimming

Australasian Gannet flying over sea

In contrast to the American Mediterranean Sea and Mediterranean Sea, it is not surrounded by continents, only by islands and peninsulas.^{[clarification needed]} It includes the following seas:

1. South China Sea - 3.5 million km²
2. Banda Sea - 695,000 km²
3. Arafura Sea - 650,000 km²
4. Timor Sea - 610,000 km²
5. Java Sea - 320,000 km²
6. Gulf of Thailand - 320,000 km²
7. Gulf of Carpentaria - 300,000 km²
8. Celebes Sea - 280,000 km²
9. Sulu Sea - 260,000 km²
10. Molucca Sea - 200,000 km²
11. Natuna Sea
12. Gulf of Tonkin - 126,250 km²
13. Flores Sea - 121,000 km²
14. Savu Sea - 105,000 km²
15. Halmahera Sea - 95,000 km²
16. Bali Sea - 45,000 km²
17. Joseph Bonaparte Gulf - 26,780 km²
18. Van Diemen Gulf - 12,035 km²
19. Seram Sea - 12,000 km²
20. Sibuyan Sea
21. Clarence Strait
22. Straits of Johor
23. Karimata Strait
24. Lombok Strait
25. Luzon Strait
26. Makassar Strait
27. Strait of Malacca
28. Ombai Strait
29. Qiongzhou Strait
30. Riau Strait
31. Singapore Strait
32. Sunda Strait
33. Taiwan Strait
34. Torres Strait
35. Gaspar Strait
36. Wetar Strait

States or territories with a coast on the Australasian Mediterranean Sea are: Australia, Brunei, China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. It includes the straits of Malacca, Singapore and Luzon, and adjoins the peninsulas of Indochina and Malaysia. The following islands are located within it:

• Bathurst Island, Groote Eylandt, Hainan Dao, Phú Quốc, Ko Chang, Samui archipelago, Nang Yuan, Ko Phangan, Ko Samui, Ko Tao, Tioman, Melville Island, Maluku Islands, New Guinea, Paracel Islands, Pratas Island, Philippines, Riau Islands, Sangir Archipelago, Spratly Islands, Greater Sunda Islands (Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi), Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali, Flores, Komodo Islands, Lombok, Sumba, Sumbawa, Timor), Taiwan, and Talaud Islands.

See also

• East Indian Archipelago
• Maritime Southeast Asia