At UN debate, Singapore reaffirms freedom of passage in international waterways

The freedom of passage in international waterways is a right and not a privilege, Singapore told the United Nations on Monday (Apr 27), as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz dragged on.
Speaking at a high-level UN debate on the safety and protection of waterways, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim said Singapore, as a small island nation, takes the position that any transit in straits used for international navigation “is a right under international law and not a discretionary privilege that can be paid for or negotiated”.
“Any erosion of international law in one region of the world inevitably sets a dangerous precedent for all others,” he said.
The Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of global oil shipments, has been largely closed since the eruption of the war in Iran, which began with US-Israeli strikes on the country on Feb 28.
Although a ceasefire has paused full-scale fighting, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had no intention of reopening Hormuz, while Washington has imposed a US Navy blockade of Iran’s ports.