Singapore FM: Cooperation in Malacca Strait Can Serve as Global Example

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has assessed that the collaboration between Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia in safeguarding the security and openness of the Malacca and Singapore Straits in accordance with UNCLOS can serve as an example for other regions in the world.

“The success of Indonesia and the effective cooperation we have in this region has a significant impact on ASEAN’s prospects, but it can also serve as a positive example for the entire world,” Balakrishnan said in a joint press statement with Indonesia and Singapore in Jakarta on Tuesday.

According to him, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz impacts energy supplies to Asia, including Southeast Asia, and inflation from higher energy prices, as well as triggering some fundamental challenges to the international rules-based system.

Balakrishnan said he had spoken with Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, and invited him to visit Southeast Asia to see the region’s diversity and development potential.

He stated that such a visit is important to affirm the meaning of regional peace, a rules-based world order, and compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The fact that the three countries have been able to maintain the Malacca and Singapore Straits as open and safe waterways within a cooperation mechanism formulated in accordance with UNCLOS can serve as an applicable example for other regions in the world, Balakrishnan added.

He also expressed that Indonesia and Singapore have very good relations and have supported each other in any circumstances, especially in facing the ongoing Middle East crisis.

“Whether during the COVID-19 pandemic or now the Middle East crisis, we have supported each other, we have helped each other, and we will get through this crisis together,” Balakrishnan said.

The US-Israel war with Iran that broke out on 28 February 2026 has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, where that sea route distributes around 20 percent of the world’s energy, including to Indonesia.

Two tankers operating for Pertamina, for example, were detected still in the Persian Gulf region, according to the online-monitored Vessel Finder ship tracking website from Jakarta on Tuesday.

The Pertamina Pride ship was detected off the coast of Saudi Arabia; while the Gamsunoro ship was recorded off the coast of Iraq.