US Warship in Malacca Strait, Ministry of Defence: International Route

Head of the Defence Information Bureau of the Ministry of Defence (Kemhan), Brigadier General TNI Rico Ricardo Sirait, stated that there is no violation regarding the presence of the US warship, USS Miguel Keith, which transited the Malacca Strait. He said that the Malacca Strait is an international shipping lane. “It is an international shipping lane, the ALKI (Indonesian Archipelagic Sea Lanes) that is passed through, which is an international freedom of movement route,” Rico said at the Ministry of Defence Building, West Medan Merdeka, Central Jakarta, on Friday, 24 April 2026. Rico said that the Indonesian National Armed Forces Headquarters has already provided an explanation regarding the presence of the US warship in the Malacca Strait. He did not provide further explanation on this matter. The US warship, USS Miguel Keith, was detected in the waters east of Belawan on Saturday, 18 April 2026, around 3:00 PM WIB. Regarding the presence of USS Miguel Keith in the Malacca Strait, the Head of the Indonesian Navy Information Service, First Admiral Tunggul, said that the US combat vessel was in transit. In response to the foreign ship transiting Indonesian waters, Tunggul said that ships, including warships, have the right to transit passage. “(Applicable) in straits used for international navigation,” said Tunggul via a short message on Sunday, 19 April 2026. The US ship’s voyage for transit purposes, he said, is carried out directly, continuously, and as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sugiono stated that the presence of the US warship in the Malacca Strait was only for regional patrol. The ship was monitored passing to the northwest at a speed of 13.1 knots in the Automatic Identification System (AIS). “I think it’s normal, yes, patrolling the region,” Sugiono said at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Wednesday, 22 April 2026. According to this Gerindra Party politician, warships transiting the waters of other countries is a common occurrence. He alluded to the principle of Freedom of Navigation Patrol, which is an operation usually conducted by navies (especially the United States) to assert the right to freedom of navigation in international waters based on international law. “There is something called Freedom of Navigation Patrol, right. It’s not new, it’s not something new,” said Sugiono.