Dato' Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Minister of Transport, Malaysia

Mr Baharin Dato' Abdul Hamid, Deputy Director General, Marine Department Malaysia

Capt Bobby R Mamahit, Director General for Sea Transportation, Ministry of Transportation, Indonesia

Distinguished Delegates

Ladies and gentlemen

I am delighted to join you for the 7th Co-operation Forum on this idyllic resort island of Langkawi.

Importance of Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS)

The Straits of Malacca and Singapore, or SOMS for short, is one of the world's busiest and most important shipping lanes in the world, carrying about one third of the world's traded goods. The SOMS supports the bulk of the maritime trade between Europe and the Asia Pacific and is especially important for vessels transporting oil between the Middle East and the East Asian economies of Japan and China. The SOMS is therefore of vital importance to both the Europe-Asia trade and to the energy needs of East Asia. Continued growth in Asia coupled with the rapid economic development of China and India will further raise the importance of the SOMS.

Importance of the Co-operative Mechanism

Given the importance of the SOMS to shipping and world trade, the Co-operative Mechanism on Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, or Co-operative Mechanism for short, is a valuable platform for all stakeholders to put our minds together on common issues. Launched in 2007 following a series of IMO-sponsored meetings under the IMO's "Protection of Vital Shipping Lanes" initiative, the Co-operative Mechanism brings together the littoral States, user States and other stakeholders to discuss and co-operate on issues pertaining to navigational safety and protection of the marine environment in the SOMS. Notably, the Co-operative Mechanism is also a significant milestone for the international maritime community as it realised, for the first time, the spirit and intent of Article 43 of the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS).

Importance of Stakeholders' Contribution and Participation

The success of the Co-operative Mechanism over the last seven years has been made possible with the strong support and commitment from the user States, the IMO, and various stakeholders of the SOMS. I am very encouraged to see your continued strong presence at today's 7th Co-operation Forum. Your views, ideas and contributions to the Co-operative Mechanism are critical as ensuring and safeguarding maritime access through the SOMS remains our common objective. On this note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the user States and stakeholders who had contributed to the success of the Co-operative Mechanism over the years. These are Australia, China, European Commission, Germany, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, USA, BIMCO, ICS, International Foundation for Aids to Navigation, INTERTANKO, Malacca Strait Council, The Nippon Foundation, and last but not least, the IMO.

Priorities for the 7th Co-operation Forum

As we embark on another round of dialogue over the next two days, I would like to set forth two priority areas for the Forum's consideration.

The first area is that we must continue to find practical solutions to enhance safety and environmental protection in the SOMS. A recent example where mutual interests have produced such practical solutions is the development and launch of the SOMS Safe Passage Pamphlet by BIMCO, done in co-operation with the littoral States. The pamphlet is a handy compendium of the applicable rules for safe navigation in the SOMS, and includes concise and important information unique for navigational considerations. I am pleased to note that this pamphlet has been well-received by the industry and urge the Forum to continue exploring similar practical solutions.

The second is to harness new technology to enhance navigational safety and environmental protection in the SOMS. We have already done some good work in this regard through the Marine Electronic Highway, or MEH, project and should continue on this front. The Demonstration Phase of the MEH was completed in 2012 and produced good outcomes such as the MEH Data Centre which houses and provides important navigational and environmental information for users traversing the SOMS. Sea trials which were conducted to assess the relevance of such information produced positive results. Beyond the Demonstration Phase of the MEH, it is exciting to hear about the SOMS being used as a test-bed for e-Navigation technologies and strategies under the MEH. Two new projects which contribute towards risk management application and test-bedding of dynamic real-time monitoring of Under Keel Clearance (UKC) in the SOMS will be discussed at this forum. I encourage the forum participants to contribute to these proposals as I believe such technological solutions can bring about considerable improvements in effective planning and monitoring of deep draft ships, such as VLCCs, transiting the SOMS.

Going Forward

As trade in Asia continues to grow, the SOMS will undoubtedly grow in significance as a shipping lane. Global and regional issues on shipping, on safe navigation and environmental matters will emerge. Thus, platforms like the Co-operative Mechanism will become even more important for us to come together to have constructive dialogue. As long as we continue to work together to pool our resources, expertise and ideas, I believe that the Co-operative Mechanism is and will continue to be a successful model for other regions to emulate and consider applying so long as we remain progressive and forward thinking.

On our part, Singapore will continue to give emphasis to and support the work of the Co-operative Mechanism. We will also work with our fellow littoral States and all stakeholders to ensure the continued relevance and effectiveness of the Co-operative Mechanism in the longer term. To this, I look forward to tomorrow's panel discussion on "A Way Ahead" which I again encourage all participants to share their views.

In closing, on behalf of the Singapore delegation, I extend my sincere thanks to the host country Malaysia for its gracious hospitality and wonderful organisation of this event, and look forward to a fruitful discussion over these two days.

Terima Kasih and as the next host for the Co-operation Forum, I extend an early welcome to all of you to visit Singapore next year.