Indonesia has clarified it will not levy tariffs on vessels passing through the Malacca Strait, affirming its commitment to international law and freedom of navigation. This follows a previous suggestion by the Finance Minister to consider such levies.
Indonesia n Foreign Minister Sugiono's comments come a day after Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa floated the possibility of Jakarta imposing levies on ships passing through the Malacca Strait .
A container ship enters the Singapore Strait for the Strait of Malacca, as tourists stand at mainland Asia's southern most point in Johor, Malaysia. Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Indonesia will not impose tariffs on vessels passing through the Malacca Strait as doing so would not be consistent with international law, Foreign Minister Sugiono said on Thursday .
According to Indonesian media outlet Antara, Mr Sugiono was quoted during a press interview in Jakarta as saying that Indonesia respects international law, including the "Indonesia is in a position where, as an archipelagic state, we must respect international law, particularly UNCLOS.
"Historically, UNCLOS includes an understanding and an agreement that recognises us as an archipelagic state, as long as we do not impose tolls or fees on the straits within our territory," said Mr Sugiono. "We hope for a free passage. As a trading nation, we support freedom of navigation. I believe that there is a commitment from many countries to create a free, neutral and mutually supportive shipping lane," the Jakarta Globe reported him as saying.
On Wednesday, Mr Purbaya said that the idea to impose a levy was inspired by Iran’s plan to charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, handles about a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade.
Local media cited him as saying that the proposal aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s directive that Indonesia behaves like a “key player” on the global economic stage.countries in the region adopt a consensus-based approach on maritime security. Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand shared a “watertight understanding” of the issue and conduct joint patrols along the strait to ensure the safe passage of ships, added MrDr Balakrishnan said in a CNBC interview on Wednesday that Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, as the littoral states of the Strait of Malacca, have a"cooperative mechanism" not to collect tolls and to keep it that way.
"We do not have tolls. All of us are trade-dependent economies. All of us know it is in our interest to keep it open," Dr Balakrishnan said. We know it's a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with CNA to be fast, secure and the best it can possibly be.
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