Riau Islands Province (Indonesian: Propinsi Kepulauan Riau (Kepri or Riau Kepulauan) is a province of Indonesia, consisting of Riau Archipelago, Natuna Islands, Anambas, and Lingga Islands. Originally part of the Riau Province, the Riau Islands were split off as a separate province in July 2004 with Tanjung Pinang as its capital. The archipelagos of Anambas and Natuna, located between mainland Malaysia and Borneo were attached to the new province.
Karimun A strategic location of no significant meaning
Karimun is one of the islands in the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. It is west of Singapore and Batam. The island's main city is Tanjung Balai Karimun. As of 1997, the island had a population of 155,000.
In the past, Karimun was the destination of foreign traders and the Malay Kings. The island has strategic geographical importance, as it is near the Straits of Malacca, an international shipping route. Stamford Raffles is believed to have considered Karimun island instead of Singapore island when looking for a settlement. Due to large scale indiscriminate fishing activity near the island recently, fish stocks have been depleted, and thus the fishing businesses have declined considerably.
The main export of the island is its granite which is one of the best quality in the world. Sand has also been constantly exported to Singapore for land reclamation. Indonesian concern at Singapore reclamation projects has however limited sand exports. At the beginning of 2007, Indonesia banned the export of sand. Singapore being their biggest importer now faces a crisis with many upcoming building developments.
