AdvertisementIndonesiaAsiaSoutheast AsiaIndonesia rules out collecting transit fees from ships in Malacca Strait
‘As a trading nation, Indonesia supports freedom of navigation and expects open sea lanes,’ Foreign Minister Sugiono says
1-MIN READ1-MINBloombergPublished: 11:30am, 24 Apr 2026Indonesia’s top diplomat said the country will not pursue tolls on ships passing through the Strait of Malacca, seeking to calm concerns after its finance minister raised the idea this week.
“As a trading nation, Indonesia supports freedom of navigation and expects open sea lanes,” Foreign Minister Sugiono said on Thursday in Jakarta. “So Indonesia is not in a position to impose such charges – that would not be appropriate.”
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa on Wednesday questioned whether it was “right or wrong” that Indonesia does not charge tolls on vessels transiting the narrow waterway.
AdvertisementHis comments came as a broader debate unfolds over Iran’s push to levy fees on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint linking the Gulf to global markets.The Strait of Malacca, which runs between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and a strategic bottleneck for Asia.AdvertisementRoughly 40 per cent of global trade transits the strait each year, including a significant share of energy shipments bound for China, Japan and South Korea.AdvertisementSelect VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x
