TNI states that US ship passing through Malacca Strait is merely transiting

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Head of the Navy Information Service (Kadispenal) of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), First Admiral Tunggul, stated that the US-owned vessel crossing the Malacca Strait is only conducting transit or Transit Passage rights.

This was conveyed by Tunggul in an official statement received by ANTARA in Jakarta on Monday.

“In response to the foreign vessel transiting the Malacca Strait, the rights of vessels, including warships, transiting those waters constitute Transit Passage rights,” said Tunggul in his official statement.

Tunggul explained that foreign vessels are entitled to this right because the Malacca Strait is one of the international shipping lanes.

He continued that this transit right is valid under Articles 37, 38, and 38 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Indonesia itself has ratified UNCLOS through Law No. 17 of 1985 on the ratification of UNCLOS. With this law, Indonesia directly recognises the Malacca Strait as an international shipping lane.

Nevertheless, Tunggul emphasised that all vessels transiting must respect Indonesia as the coastal state.

Those vessels are also required to comply with various regulations to prevent ship collisions and marine pollution from fuel.

“As long as the foreign vessel is in transit, it must not violate the provisions of the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG) 1972 on preventing collisions at sea and the Marine Pollution (Marpol) convention on preventing pollution from ships,” Tunggul concluded.