TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan hails the collaboration between Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. According to him, the efforts to maintain the waterway safe and open could serve as an example for other regions around the world.
"The success of Indonesia and the effective cooperation that we have in our region has a major impact on the prospects for ASEAN, but can also serve as a positive example for the rest of the world," Balakrishnan said in a joint press statement between Indonesia and Singapore in Jakarta on Tuesday, May 12, as quoted from Antara.
He noted that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disturbed energy supplies to Asia, including Southeast Asia, and caused inflation from higher energy prices, as well as triggered several fundamental challenges to the international rules-based system.
Balakrishnan said he had spoken with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and invited him to visit Southeast Asia to see the region's immense diversity and development potential.
The visit is important to affirm the importance of regional peace, a rules-based world order, and adherence to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), he said.
The fact that the three countries have been able to maintain the Straits of Malacca and Singapore as open, safe waterways, within the cooperative mechanisms established under UNCLOS, can serve as an example that can be applied in other regions of the world, Balakrishnan added.
He also stated that Indonesia and Singapore have excellent relations and have supported each other under all circumstances, especially in dealing with the ongoing Middle East crisis.
"Whether it was the COVID-19 pandemic, or now with the crisis in the Middle East. We have stood by each other, we have supported each other, and we will get through this crisis together," Balakrishnan said.
The United States-Israel war with Iran that broke out on February 28, 2026, resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20 percent of the world's energy flows, including Indonesia.
Two tankers operating for Pertamina, for example, were detected in the Persian Gulf, according to the ship tracking website Vessel Finder, which was monitored online from Jakarta on Tuesday.
The Pertamina Pride ship was detected off the coast of Saudi Arabia; Meanwhile, the Gamsunoro ship was recorded as being off the coast of Iraq.
Read: Indonesia, Singapore Agree to Enhance Energy, Investment Ties
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