Littoral States Pledge To Keep Straits Of Malacca And Singapore Open For Global Shipping

Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia announced their commitment to ensure that the Straits of Malacca and Singapore remain open to all countries for navigation and shipping operations.

They pledged to uphold international laws at the 17th Co-operation Forum in Singapore, where the three countries, which share their borders with the critical straits, emphasised their status as free and open shipping lanes.

This has been mentioned in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, popularly known as UNCLOS and also other international conventions which outline the right to free passage using international waterways, rights of navigation and other freedoms.

In the forum, discussions centred around the countries’ responsibility in maintaining the waterways, enhancing maritime security and upholding international rules and regulations regarding passage of ships.

Stakeholders and decision-makers also discussed also talked about introduction of new technologies at ports surrounding the straits and the use of alternative fuels to reduce harmful emissions in the region.

This approach, focusing on collaboration between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, has been established under the Co-Operative Mechanism in 2007.

It suggests that it is the responsibility of the above-mentioned countries, along with those that use the Strait of Malacca and Singapore, to maintain the freedom of navigation in the waterway, along with other rights as highlighted under the UNCLOS Article 43.

The critical straits are 435 nm long and connect the Indian Ocean, South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, making them the longest waterway used for trade.

Around 25% of the world’s total traded goods and a large portion of Asia’s oil and energy supplies are handled by the waterway. Transhipment hubs like the Port of Singapore and Malaysia’s Port of Klang deal with most of these cargoes.