At UN debate, Singapore reaffirms freedom of passage in international waterways

The freedom of passage in international waterways is a right and not a privilege, Singapore told the United Nations on Monday (Apr 27), as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz dragged on.



Speaking at a high-level UN debate on the safety and protection of waterways, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim said Singapore, as a small island nation, takes the position that any transit in straits used for international navigation “is a right under international law and not a discretionary privilege that can be paid for or negotiated”.



"Any erosion of international law in one region of the world inevitably sets a dangerous precedent for all others,” he said.



The Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of global oil shipments, has been largely closed since the eruption of the war in Iran, which began with US-Israeli strikes on the country on Feb 28.



Although a ceasefire has paused full-scale fighting, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had no intention of reopening Hormuz, while Washington has imposed a US Navy blockade of Iran's ports.



Last week, Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa floated the idea of imposing tolls on ships using the Malacca Strait, before clarifying that his country had no intention of doing so.