Question

The only land - locked country in South - East Asia is:
A. Laos
B. Thailand
C. Malaysia
D. Kampuchea

Answer 1

Hint: This country is a republic of its own. The position of the nation has always made it a buffer state between more dominant neighbouring nations, as well as a crossroads for trade and communication. Approximately seventy per cent of the geographical area of this nation consists of mountain ranges, highlands, plateaux and rivers.

Complete Answer:
A landlocked nation or a landlocked state can be understood as a sovereign state which does not have an ocean-bound territory or whose coastlines lie in endorheic basins. There are officially 44 landlocked countries and 5 partially-recognized landlocked nations.

Laos is the only landlocked nation in Southeast Asia, mainly between 14° and 23°N latitudes and 100° and 108°E longitudes.Its heavily forested landscape consists mainly of rugged mountains, the highest of which is Phou Bia at 2,818 metres, with some plains and plateaus. The Mekong River forms a major part of the western frontier with Thailand, where the Annamite Mountains form much of the eastern border with Vietnam and the Luang Prabang Mountains form the northwest border with the Thai Highlands. There are two plateaux, the Xiangkhoang in the north and the Bolaven Plateau in the south. Laos can be considered to consist of three geographical areas: the north, the central and the south.

The choices are as follows:
- Laos is the only landlocked nation in Southeast Asia. Thus, Option A is the correct one.
- Thailand is situated in the middle of the mainland of SouthEast Asia and is not a landlocked nation. Therefore, option B is an incorrect alternative.
- Malaysia, even though it is a nation in SouthEast Asia, is not landlocked. Thus, option C is also an incorrect option.
- Cambodia is a Southeast Asian country with a landscape of low-lying plains, the Mekong Delta, the mountains and the Gulf of Thailand coastline. Option D is not the correct answer, therefore.

Hence option A is the correct answer.

Note: The largest landlocked nation in the world is Kazakhstan. Laos is one of four in the opium poppy growing area known as the Golden Triangle. There were only 30 landlocked countries in the world in 1990.