he Indonesian Navy reassured the United States warship that passed through the Strait of Malacca over the weekend was conducting routine transit passage in full compliance with international law amid mounting concerns of spillover of the war in Iran.
Citing provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) governing transit passage and the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, Navy spokesperson First Adm. Tunggul said the warship had not violated any international laws and had respected Indonesia’s status as a coastal state.
“[It is] the right of ships, including warships, to pass through those waters as constituted in the right of transit passage,” Tunggul said on Monday.
He also asserted that every foreign vessel passing through Malacca must respect Indonesia as a coastal country and adhere to various international regulations to prevent ship collisions and sea pollution because of their fuel.
On Saturday afternoon, the warship, USS Miguel Keith, was detected passing through the Strait of Malacca, specifically east of Belawan, North Sumatra. The strait is a narrow maritime corridor linking the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
According to descriptions from the US Navy, the USS Miguel Keith is a 240-meter-long warship used as a customizable floating command base to launch helicopters and small boats. It also serves as living quarters for troops and hosts command-and-control facilities.
Despite reassurances from US Navy spokesperson Commander Matthew Comer that the warship was only conducting routine operations with the 7th Fleet after maintenance in South Korea, the ship’s passage raised concerns of dragging the Strait of Malacca and countries around the waters into the US-Israeli war on Iran in the Middle East.
