Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are working closely together to keep vessels moving safely through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Tuesday, stressing the three countries’ shared responsibility for keeping the waterways open and secure.
“The Straits of Malacca and Singapore are used for international navigation, and therefore the rights of transit passage similarly apply,” said Gan, who is also trade and industry minister, on the opening day of Singapore Maritime Week.
“[The straits] are not only important to Singapore, but to all the countries bordering it. Also, it connects the east from the west, so it’s important for the rest of the world,” he said.
“This is something that we have worked together over the years, to make sure that we maintain the straits [with] a shared responsibility.”
His comments came as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz caused by the Iran war have sharpened focus on other major maritime chokepoints – including the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, which link Asia with the Middle East and Europe.
Together, both waterways form the world’s busiest corridor for crude oil and petroleum liquids by volume, carrying nearly 40 per cent of global trade and about one-third of the world’s seaborne oil.
Gan said Singapore needed to strengthen partnerships with like-minded countries amid an increasingly volatile global climate.
Singapore was also negotiating with Malaysia and Indonesia to import electricity as it sought to diversify its energy sources beyond solar, he added.
Earlier this month, Singapore and Australia renewed their collaboration and commitment to keep oil and gas flowing between the two countries.
‘Stark reminder’
While the United Nations agency International Maritime Organisation continued to work with governments to ensure free trade and passageways, there would inevitably be instances where conflicting national interests take precedence, Gan said.
“We also have to be realistic because countries will have their national concerns, national interests and security … They will introduce measures and rules that may not be favourable to a free passage, the growth of the maritime industry,” he said.
In a speech earlier on Tuesday, Gan said the events in the Strait of Hormuz were a “stark reminder” of the large extent the global economy relied on critical chokepoints and the international rules-based maritime system.
Iran has largely closed the strait to ships other than its own since the United States and Israel launched air strikes in late February, while Washington has imposed a blockade of Iranian ships since last week.
Tehran on Friday declared that the waterway was open for commercial vessels but then announced a full closure just a day later.
When asked about Singapore’s diplomacy plan regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Gan said the government would watch the developments closely, reiterating that the city state would not negotiate with Tehran.
Once you negotiate … it’s no longer a right
Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister
Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said transit through the waterway was a right and not a privilege.
“Once you negotiate and subject yourself to conditions … it’s no longer a right,” Gan said to applause in the hall. “Therefore, it’s important for us to stay on course, and sometimes we have to make a hard decision – that this is a matter of principle, that we cannot negotiate something that is a matter of rights.”