C O N F I D E N T I A L SINGAPORE 003669

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2016
TAGS: AS EWWT ID MY PBTS PHSA PREL SN UNGA MRSEC
SUBJECT: SINGAPORE PLAYS TOUGH ON TORRES STRAIT IN UNGA
OCEANS RESOLUTION

REF: A. REED - ROACH EMAILS OF NOVEMBER 20 AND 21

B. CANBERRA 1765

C. STATE 90707

Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold, reasons 1.
4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh called in Ambassador
Herbold to the MFA on November 22 to urge the United States
to continue trying to get Australia to accept tougher
language on the right of free passage contained in the UNGA
draft resolution on Oceans and the law of the sea. Koh
stressed that Singapore remains deeply concerned that
Australia's unilateral implementation of compulsory pilotage
in the Torres Strait would establish a precedent seen to
allow other coastal states (e.g., Indonesia and Malaysia) to
encroach on the right of free passage as enshrined in the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Koh urged us to
work to get Australia to accept a compromise formulation
based on an earlier U.S. proposal (see paragraph 4) in place
of operative paragraph (OP) 65 in the current draft. If that
effort failed, Koh said the GOS would table an amendment
adding a new OP (see paragraph 5) that addressed its
concerns.


2. (SBU) Ambassador Herbold recalled that the United States
shares Singapore's view on the Torres Strait issue and had
worked in New York to negotiate mutually acceptable language
with Australia. However, time had elapsed, and the United
States now considered the negotiation closed. She stressed
that the United States did not support tabling an amendment
that might put passage of the resolution by consensus at
risk. The Ambassador suggested that if Singapore were to
refrain from tabling an amendment, we would be prepared to
make a strong explanation of vote on the right of free
passage after the resolution's adoption by consensus. She
hoped that Singapore might then follow with a statement of
its own.


3. (SBU) Koh said that the resolution's Brazilian
coordinator, Carlos Duarte, had informed Singapore by email
that he would accept changes to the draft until 2 p.m.
November 22, New York time. Koh allowed that Singapore was
still considering options, and he did not rule out that it
might eventually support the U.S. approach. But he said
Singapore did not want to give up yet, and reasserted that it
would table an amendment if an acceptable formulation for OP
65 were not found. He again urged us to use the available
time to convince Australia to accept the language in
paragraph 4.


4. (U) Proposed compromise language in place of OP65:
Calls upon coastal states, archipelagic states, and states
bordering straits used for international navigation to comply
with their duties as set forth in the convention, calls upon
foreign ships exercising the right of innocent passage and
foreign ships and aircraft exercising the right of
archipelagic sea lanes passage and transit passage to comply
with their duties as set forth in the convention, (and calls
upon all states to refrain from taking any unilateral action
which is inconsistent with the convention.) (Note:
Singapore's addition to earlier U.S. proposal enclosed in
brackets.)


5. (SBU) Amendment GOS intends to propose if paragraph 4
language is not accepted: Reaffirms that States bordering
straits used for international navigation may adopt, as
provided in the Convention, laws and regulations relating to
transit passage through straits; such laws and regulations
shall not discriminate in form or in fact among foreign ships
or in their application have the practical effect of denying,
hampering or impairing the right of transit passage, and
foreign ships exercising the right of transit passage shall
comply with such laws and regulations;


6. (C) COMMENT: Singapore is well aware that the United
States has been its closest ally on the Torres Strait issue.
At the end of the day, we suspect it will think hard before
putting at risk the consensus that both we and Singapore seek
on this resolution. Nevertheless, its threatening to
maintain a hard line, even when it knew of our strong view on

preserving consensus going into this meeting, is unusual for
Singapore and is a measure of how strongly it feels about
preserving the current balance between rights and
responsibilities of coastal and user states under UNCLOS,
especially in its own complicated maritime neighborhood.
HERBOLD