Riau Islands Province

The Riauinseln ( Kepulauan Riau Indonesian ) are an Indonesian province between the Malay Peninsula and Borneo. The province was separated from the province of Riau in 2004.

Geography

The province is composed of the islands of the actual Riau Islands, the Anambas Islands, the Lingga Islands, the Natuna Islands. They are located in the extreme southwest of the South China Sea.

The provincial capital is Tanjung Pinang. It replaced the temporary seat of government Batam.

Industry & Tourism

Because of its location at the eastern end of the Straits of Malacca and the proximity to Singapore, the province has developed into a lively industrial and tourist center. In the Natuna islands natural gas is promoted. The population consists of Malays and immigrant Chinese.

History

In the Middle Ages, the Riau Islands were part of the kingdom of Srivijaya, later the Sultans of Malacca and Johor, the Portuguese, and later the British and the Dutch fought for supremacy before the islands were the beginning of the 19th century finally to the Netherlands, and this was confirmed in the British -Dutch Treaty of 1824.

During World War II the islands were occupied Japanese, since they are part of the newly independent Indonesia in 1949.