Differences between the littoral states regarding the status of the Malacca Strait result in disharmony and inconsistencies in handling spatial planning and preventing marine pollution in the strait. International cooperation with user countries carried out so far is also not optimal due to conflict of interests. Using a normative juridical approach and secondary data of the provisions of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and the Declaration of the Three Strait States, the Malacca Strait is under the sovereignty of the littoral states and used for international navigation with transiting passage. Spatial planning in the Malacca Strait, which results in overlapping uses for cross-fishing vessels, conservation, and traditional fishing, cannot be performed because the problem of maritime boundary determination has not been resolved by the littoral states. Tripartite cooperation needs to continue to be built through agreements that not only bind the littoral states but also the user states.

This paper aims to describe an ongoing three-year vocabulary project funded by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture. It focuses on explaining the unique features and one of the practical uses of VIBE* (Vocabulary Item-Bank of English). Designed as a multi-purpose lexical tool on computer for vocabulary assessment as well as vocabulary learning, VIBE has the following features: (1) a coverage based on distinctive selection of the target items/words, namely high frequency words, (2) a novel open-database approach to item creation, and (3) innovative test formats. In its current state, it has been successfully used in pioneering vocabulary competitions to encourage autonomous vocabulary learning.