Jakarta. Singapore recently reassured the world that the city-state had been working with Indonesia, Malaysia, and others to make sure that ships can freely traverse the Strait of Malacca.

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan’s address to the UN General Assembly over the weekend put emphasis on the imperative to keep commercial shipping lanes open. The comment came against the backdrop of the Strait of Hormuz closures that had dealt a blow to global energy flows.

“Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia — the three littoral states of the straits of Malacca and Singapore — have worked with other users of these straits to keep the straits open, secure, and accessible to everyone for decades.... Including through the cooperative mechanism on the safety of navigation and environmental protection in [both] straits,” Balakrishnan told the UN hall over the weekend. 

These two waterways form one continuous channel connecting the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. According to Balakrishnan, the Strait of Singapore — despite spanning less than two nautical miles at its narrowest — carries almost a quarter of the world’s seaborne trade.

Neither Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono nor his Malaysian counterpart Mohamad Haji Hasan brought up the Malacca Strait when they spoke from the UN’s green podium. However, all three countries have repeatedly renewed their pledges to keep traffic uninterrupted.

Earlier this year, the Indonesian government found itself in hot water after ex-finance minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa floated in jest plans to slap tolls in the Malacca Strait. The Indonesian government quickly denied such plans to assuage toll fears. Purbaya at the time told the press that the 1982 international maritime law UNCLOS still stands. 

“As a UNCLOS signatory, we [Indonesia] can't impose levies on transiting vessels, except for the services [rendered to the foreign ships],” Purbaya said.

In the Middle East, uncertainties over the Strait of Hormuz have shown no sign of abating despite some negotiation attempts.

Traffic has remained almost non-existent at the maritime chokepoint since the US and Israel launched a military campaign against Tehran in late February. Iran’s geography allows the country to control which ships get to move in and out of the narrow waterway that carries about a fifth of the global oil supplies. The closures have also sent oil prices to sky-high levels. 

US President Donald Trump has rejected Tehran’s proposal to reopen the strait on the condition that he lifted the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.

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