Singapore stands firm: No negotiations on Strait of Hormuz access, says foreign minister

Singapore has ruled out negotiating for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, with Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Tuesday (7 April) saying such talks would go against established international law on the right of transit passage.

“The position is quite clear. There is a right of transit passage,” Balakrishnan said when responding to a parliamentary question by MP Fadli Fawzi, who asked if the government would engage Iran or consider paying a toll to secure transit through the Strait of Hormuz for Singapore-flagged vessels. 

“It is not a privilege to be granted by the bordering state, it is not a license to be supplicated for, it is not a toll be paid. It is a right of ships to traverse. This right is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), of which obviously Singapore is a signatory and has ratified.”

He said that under UNCLOS, “there is no exception for security, no exception for the environment, and there is no exception for war”.

“I cannot engage in negotiations for safe passage of ships or negotiate on toll rates because to do so would be implicitly eroding this legal principle,” he added.

Singapore’s position sets it apart from other Southeast Asian nations including Thailand and Malaysia that have sought agreements with Iran to secure safe passage for their vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 9 April, 2026