The Iran war is pushing Southeast Asia to debate the once unthinkable: Whether ships will need to pay to transit the Strait of Malacca

Iran’s decision to charge fees for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz—and U.S. President Donald Trump’s tentative endorsement of that idea—are reverbarting in a different waterway around four thousand miles away.

On April 22, Indonesia’s finance minister, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, suggested the Southeast Asian country might start imposing levies on ships transiting the Strait of Malacca, which connects the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea. The strait is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, carrying around 30% of global trade. Two hundred ships travel through Malacca each day, double the number that pass through Hormuz. 

“Iran is now planning to charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” Purbaya said during a symposium in Jakarta. “If we split [income from levies] three ways—Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore—it could be quite substantial.” He added that Indonesia stood to benefit most, given that its stretch is “the largest and longest”. 

Purabaya quickly walked back his suggestion, acknowledging that a decision would require buy-in from both Singapore and Malaysia, which also sit alongside the strait. 

Yet Pubaya’s idea, even if just a hastily raised trial balloon, shows just how quickly the conversation around freedom of navigation has changed in the two months since the outbreak of war in Iran.

Iran is now openly charging........

© Fortune