ASEAN Beat | Diplomacy | Southeast Asia

Indonesia and Singapore Pledge That Malacca Strait Will Remain ‘Open to All’

The affirmations come after an Indonesian minister raised the idea of imposing a levy on vessels passing through the vital chokepoint.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (left) and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong attend the Singapore–Indonesia Leaders’ Retreat in Jakarta, Indonesia, Jul. 6, 2026.

Indonesia and Singapore are committed to keeping the Strait of Malacca open and accessible to all vessels, the leaders of the two nations said yesterday, as they met for the second Singapore-Indonesia Leaders’ Retreat in Jakarta.

Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said that the two nations had reaffirmed their shared position on the waterway, which connects the Indian and Pacific oceans.

“Indonesia and Singapore are countries that directly border one another in the Strait of Malacca. We have a shared interest in maintaining the Strait of Malacca as a passage that is free for all parties,” he said, as per the Straits Times. “We must preserve security and peace in the strait, and also, of course, protect it from pollution, accidents, and from robbery or piracy.”

Prabowo added that Indonesia would continue coordinating with Malaysia and Thailand to ensure that the Strait would “always remain open to all, safe, and accessible to anyone who requires access,” in accordance with the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong affirmed Prabowo’s comments, stating that recent events in the Middle East, which had obstructed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, had only underscored the importance of keeping Malacca free and secure. On this question, he said that Singapore and Indonesia are “strategically aligned.”

“We both share an interest in upholding navigational rights and freedoms, and keeping sea lines of communication open to all, including the unimpeded rights of transit passage of vessels, in accordance with UNCLOS, which is also customary law,” he said.

Prabowo’s comments come after Indonesian Foreign Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa in April raised the idea of imposing a levy on ships passing through the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s........

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