Opening Remarks by Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow at the Book Launch of “The Straits of Malacca and Singapore: A Model for the World”

Professor Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large,

Emeritus Professor Beckman,

Dr Tara Davenport,

Ms Melissa Tham, CEO of NLB,

Members of the diplomatic community,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen

1.          A very good evening.

2.          When Professor Koh asked if I could join him for today’s book launch, I was very glad to do so, knowing that I would be in the company of many friends, and just as importantly, so many esteemed scholars in international maritime law.

3.          As everyone here knows, Professor Tommy Koh, together with Professor S. Jayakumar and Justice Chao Hick Tin, led Singapore’s delegation to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, from 1973 to 1982.

a.          Professor Koh served as President of the Conference in its final two years, and presided over the adoption of UNCLOS, which remains today the anchor for modern maritime legal frameworks.  

b.          Besides Professor Koh, this book was also co-edited by leading maritime scholars – Professor Robert Beckman, Dr Nilüfer Oral, and Dr Tara Davenport.

4.          Together with other co-authors, they have produced a rich and educational collection of perspectives on the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

a.          This examines the issue through multiple lenses including economics, geo-politics, and international cooperation.

b.          The authors and editors have set out an ambitious thesis – that the way the Straits are managed today should be “a model for the world”.

5.          This seems like a tall order. But if you read the book, I think you will agree that there is more than a case for making this claim.

6.          For over half a century, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore collaborated closely to improve navigational safety in our waters, including in areas with unresolved maritime boundaries.

a.          Even when there were differences in views, we did not allow these to paralyse cooperation. This is because all three countries recognised that keeping our waterways safe, secure and open was in everyone’s best interests.

b.          And it is not only the littoral states that benefited. Nearly a quarter of the world’s seaborne trade that passes through the Straits of Malacca and Singapore go through here.

c.          In 2007, this collaboration was formally recognised with the establishment of the Cooperative Mechanism, which provided a platform for littoral states, user states and industry to co-create solutions to improve navigational safety and environmental protection.

d.          At present, in this world where cooperation is beginning to feel less of the norm, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore remain a shining example of what countries can achieve when we commit to working together for the common good.

7.          Tomorrow, we are holding the 17th edition of the Cooperation Forum.

a.          I am told that we will have a record turnout of around 50 countries represented.

b.          This shows that the issue of how we manage shared waterways has become more salient.

c.          The attendees tomorrow will all do well to pick up a copy of this treatise on a key foundation of maritime law that we are launching today.

8.          The book honours the early leaders who had the foresight to collaborate on such a vital waterway, as well as today’s partners who continue to commit to its safety and stability.

a.          Readers will learn from its pages what it took to build this model for the Straits, resulting in years of peace and prosperity; but more importantly, sustaining the spirit of active cooperation and finding common ground that will need to for this model to continue.

b.          The only guarantee that the Straits will remain open, safe and secure lies in the will of man, and the work of every generation of leaders.

9.          Once again, my deepest congratulations to Professor Koh, the editors, contributors and everyone else involved in bringing this book together, which I read and thoroughly enjoyed.

a.          It now gives me great pleasure to officially launch The Straits of Malacca and Singapore: A Model for the World.

10.          Thank you.