Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS) as free, open and safe international shipping lanes, an official statement said.
At the 17th Co-operation Forum held on Tuesday in Singapore, the three nations affirmed the status of the SOMS as a Strait Used for International Navigation where the right of transit passage applies, as enshrined in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and reflected in customary international law.
The littoral states also reaffirmed the important roles played by user states, international organisations, the maritime industry and other stakeholders in sharing responsibility for and contributing to the safety of navigation and environmental protection in the SOMS.
"All three littoral states have reaffirmed their recognition that keeping the waterways safe, secure and open was in everyone’s best interests," said Singapore Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow.
In his opening remarks at the forum, Siow said the Strait of Malacca and the Singapore Strait are a "shining" example of what countries can achieve through close collaboration, a statement from his ministry said.
"For over half a century, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore collaborated closely to improve navigational safety in our waters, including in areas with unresolved maritime boundaries," he said.
“Even when there were differences in views, we did not allow these to paralyse cooperation,” he said, adding that “it is not only the littoral states that benefited. Nearly a quarter of the world’s seaborne trade that passes through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore go through here."
