00:00Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said passage through the Straits of Melaka and Singapore,
00:06a key trade chokepoint brought into focus by the war in Iran,
00:11must remain free for all and that the city-state won't support any efforts to restrict it.
00:17He said the right of transit passage is guaranteed
00:20and that Singapore will not participate in attempts to close, interdict or impose tolls in the waterway.
00:27He added that this position has been conveyed to both Beijing and Washington,
00:32noting there has been no pressure so far to change it, though that could happen.
00:37The Straits of Melaka, bordered by Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia,
00:42is a key trade route for energy and goods between the Indian and Pacific Oceans
00:47and is considered a major economic chokepoint.
00:51Patrolled by the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet,
00:54it has long been seen by China as a strategic vulnerability in a conflict scenario,
00:59often referred to as the Melaka Dilemma.
01:03Beijing has sought to reduce its reliance on the route through alternative pipelines
01:08and a push for renewable energy and electrification.
01:12Referring to U.S.-China tensions, Balakrishnan warned,
01:15the main danger is a breakdown in relations,
01:18saying that any conflict in the Pacific could escalate beyond what is currently being seen elsewhere.
01:24Panyu Joong, FMT.
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