Singapore Stands Firm on Strait of Hormuz Passage Rights

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan declares that Singapore will not negotiate for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, as it would violate international law principles. Amidst the West Asian conflict, Singapore, a major financial hub, refuses to pay a toll, emphasizing transit passage as a right under UNCLOS.

Singapore has announced it will not negotiate to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan stated firmly in Parliament that doing so would undermine international law's core principles.

As the West Asia conflict continues, Singapore, an Asian financial hub, has felt severe impacts from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global energy supply route. Balakrishnan emphasized the transit through Hormuz as a right, not a privilege, rejecting any notion of paying a toll to Iran.

Reiterating that this right is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), he asserted, "This legal principle is integral, even for nations that haven't ratified UNCLOS." Balakrishnan's stance is driven by principle, not geopolitics.

(With inputs from agencies.)