Which of the following countries in Asia is NOT a land-locked country?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, Thailand. Thailand has an extensive coastline on the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, so it is NOT land-locked. Nepal, Laos, and Bhutan, by contrast, are all genuinely land-locked Asian countries with no direct sea access.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Nepal is a land-locked Himalayan country bordered only by India and China (Tibet), with no coastline — so it does not answer a 'NOT land-locked' question.  (c) Laos is the only land-locked country in mainland Southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, with no coastline.  (d) Bhutan is a land-locked Himalayan kingdom bordered only by India and China (Tibet), with no coastline.

Concept: A land-locked country has no direct access to an open sea or ocean coastline. In Asia, well-known land-locked countries include Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Mongolia, Afghanistan, and the Central Asian republics. Thailand, though sometimes grouped with these mainland Southeast Asian neighbours, is fully coastal — bordering both the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea.

State PCS 2022 Q60 — Geography PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2022 Q60 — Geography PYQ with Answer