Users of Straits 'should be charged'

Users of Straits 'should be charged'

SINGAPORE (DPA): Participants at an international conference
unanimously agreed users of the Malacca and Singapore Straits
should be charged to defray costs of infrastructure enhancing
navigational safety and environmental protection, delegates said
on Saturday.

Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia currently pay the tab.

"It is inequitable for the coastal states alone to be
responsible for shouldering the responsibility" for all the
maritime infrastructure needed, Singapore Minister for
Communications and Information Technology told the International
Maritime Organization's conference.

Although the participants agreed in principle on sharing the
charges, a funding mechanism remained a bone of contention at the
conference which started in Singapore on Thursday.

Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, user states and
straits states must cooperate in maintenance.

Yeo stressed the need for an internationally agreed upon
framework and said Singapore is prepared to contribute a fair
share.

He sought a mechanism that would continue to allow unimpeded
passage of ships and be managed by an international entity and a
fund that was uniformly applied with no discrimination.

Both straits have been described by the London-based
International Maritime Bureau as lairs for pirates who operate in
the waters from speed boats.