'A right, not a privilege': Singapore stresses freedom of transit passage in international waterways at UN debate

Maintaining freedom of transit passage in international waterways is a right and not a privilege, said Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim on Tuesday (April 28).

Speaking at a United Nations Security Council open debate on maritime safety and security in New York, Zhulkarnain said: "As a small island developing state whose lifeline runs through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore... Singapore takes a clear and categorical position: transit passage in Straits Used for International Navigation is a right under international law and not a discretionary privilege that can be paid for or negotiated."

He added that any erosion of international law in one region of the world inevitably sets a dangerous precedent for all others. 

"The stakes are not theoretical. The Straits of Malacca and Singapore carries about 23.2 million barrels of oil per day, exceeding the 20.9 million barrels per day that used to flow through the Strait of Hormuz," he said.

Noting that the narrowest point in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore is only two nautical miles wide, he added that if the right of transit passage is not upheld, international navigation there could be completely disrupted. 

In a separate joint statement to the UN Security Council — delivered on behalf of Fiji, Jamaica, Malta and Singapore — Zhulkarnain said it is in the collective interest of all countries to uphold navigational rights and freedoms, and to ensure that critical sea lanes remain open, secure and accessible all.

In the interconnected global economy, no country has been spared from the crisis over the Strait of Hormuz, he said, with disruption to supply chains having an outsized impact on many small island nations and developing states with import dependent economies. 

"Over time, a crisis like this can also have far reaching implications for global peace and security, increasing the risk of armed conflict and instability. The unlawful restriction on the flows of trade, energy and critical supplies imposes a cost that we cannot afford," he added.

Zhulkarnain also pointed out that while the right of transit passage in Strait of Hormuz — as a Strait Used for International Navigation — applies to signatories of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), it nonetheless also applies to non-party states under customary international law. 

"We therefore call on all concerned parties to uphold and respect the right of transit passage, comply with all other applicable obligations under international law, restore safe, continuous and unimpeded transit passage in the Strait of Hormuz, and ensure the safety of seafarers and ships," he said.

"International law, and Unclos in particular, already provides a comprehensive framework to strengthen maritime safety and security — what is required is the resolve of all states to uphold and apply it," he added.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com