SINGAPORE: Singapore has joined Fiji, Jamaica and Malta in calling for the restoration of unimpeded transit through the Strait of Hormuz, after a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the crucial waterway was vetoed last week.
Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the UN Burhan Gafoor delivered a joint statement on behalf of all four countries at a meeting of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday (Apr 16).
The meeting was convened to debate Russia and China’s use of their veto powers on a draft resolution on the situation in the Middle East.
The resolution would have reaffirmed that all ships and aircraft enjoy the right of unimpeded transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement on Friday.
MFA said Fiji, Jamaica, Malta and Singapore “contributed substantively” to the negotiation, drafting, and conclusion of UNCLOS, and have an “abiding interest in its faithful implementation”.
The joint statement, as delivered by Mr Gafoor, called on all concerned parties to uphold their obligations under international law, including to restore unimpeded transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and ensure the safety of seafarers and ships.
The statement also noted that the right of transit passage is of fundamental importance to international maritime trade.
“For many small island nations and developing states, with trade-dependent economies, disruptions to such passage have severe adverse impacts on economic resilience and energy security,” added MFA.