SINGAPORE: Singapore will not negotiate for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, as doing so would undermine fundamental principles of international law, said Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Tuesday (Apr 7).
Responding to a parliamentary question by Member of Parliament Fadli Fawzi (WP-Aljunied) on whether Singapore would engage Iran or consider paying a toll for its vessels, Dr Balakrishnan stressed that transit through such waterways is a right – not a privilege.
“There is a right of transit passage,” he said. “It is not a privilege to be granted by the bordering state, it’s not a licence to be supplicated for, it is not a toll to be paid.”
He emphasised that the Strait of Hormuz, like the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Singapore, is a waterway used for international navigation. This right is codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which Singapore is a signatory.
Dr Balakrishnan added that the principle applies even to states that have not ratified UNCLOS, stating that it is not a “get-out-of-jail-free card” for them.
Iran said previously that it has allowed several countries’ ships to cross the Strait of Hormuz since its forces effectively slowed traffic through the narrow sea lane to a trickle during the war, which began in late February.
The list comprises largely Asian states, and includes China, India, Pakistan, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia.
Dr Balakrishnan characterised Singapore’s approach as being grounded in principle rather than geopolitics.
“You may be wondering why I’m taking such a legal and strict definition, and it’s not because I’m particularly obsessed with law, but because the Straits of Malacca, the Straits of Singapore is, in fact, another critical choke point,” he said.
