Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Wednesday that US President Donald Trump is not completely wrong in suggesting that disruption to energy flows via the Strait of Hormuz is primarily Asia's problem. Asian economies are among the largest customers of oil shipped through the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea, making any prolonged disruption particularly consequential for the region.
Trump has previously argued that Asian nations should shoulder more of the burden of keeping the strait open rather than relying predominantly on US protection, stating that the US does not use the strait and does not need it, but that Europe, Korea, Japan and China do.
Balakrishnan cautioned against viewing the issue solely through the lens of who buys the oil, stressing the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation through international waterways. For Singapore, he said, that principle is "non-negotiable" under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which guarantees rights of transit passage.
The minister highlighted that Iran's attempts to assert greater control over traffic through the strait go beyond potential revenues from tolls and fees. From Tehran's perspective, the ability to charge vessels could effectively establish its right to determine which ships are allowed through, giving Iran what Balakrishnan described as a potential "veto right" over Hormuz. That power, he said, could provide Tehran with "greater leverage right now than even a potential nuclear weapon."
Balakrishnan said he does not expect the US or Gulf states to tolerate a situation in which Iran held such veto power, suggesting tensions could persist even if oil continues flowing. "I think there will be a lot of pushing and shoving the next few months," he said, adding that he does not see a quick diplomatic off-ramp to the conflict.
In April, Balakrishnan warned that a US-China conflict in the Pacific could make the disruption seen in the Strait of Hormuz look like a "dry run," underscoring the vulnerability of global trade to critical maritime chokepoints. He has maintained that Singapore would refuse to choose between Washington and Beijing, acting according to its own long-term interests, and would uphold freedom of navigation through the Strait of Malacca.