Mr Lam Yi Young,
Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore,

Dato’ Capt Ahmad Bin Othman,
Director General, Marine Department, Malaysia,

Mr Tonny Budiono,
Director for Navigation, Directorate General of Sea Transportation,
Indonesia,

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1 Good evening. I am delighted to join you at tonight’s Welcome Reception for the 10th Meeting of the Aids to Navigation Fund Committee.

2 Today, more than 70,000 vessels transit the Straits of Malacca and Singapore each year, carrying about one-third of the world’s traded goods. Indeed, the Straits remains one of the busiest and most important shipping lanes in the world, providing a crucial link between Asia, and the Middle East, Europe and Africa. In the coming decades, with the rise of Asia, the importance of the Straits to the international community will grow. It is therefore essential that the Straits remains safe, clean and open to navigation.

3 This is why the three littoral States – Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore – came together with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and key user States in 2007 to launch the Co-operative Mechanism on the Safety of Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

4 As one of the three pillars of the Co-operative Mechanism, the Aids to Navigation Fund (ANF) ensures a sustainable means of financing the maintenance and replacement of critical aids to navigation in the Straits. These aids to navigation play an indispensable role in maintaining navigational safety, by providing crucial navigational markings to guide ships safely through the busy shipping lanes. With the support of the ANF, ships transiting the Straits can rely on well-maintained aids to navigation.

5 The good work of the ANF would not have been possible without the generous contributions from many user States and stakeholders of the Straits. Since its inception in 2007, the ANF has received a total contribution of about US$15.3 million. This has enabled the three littoral States to perform regular maintenance works for over 50 critical aids to navigation in the Straits. Five of these navigational aids have also been replaced, including the Sepat Beacon in Malaysia and One Fathom Bank Special Mark Resilient Light Beacon in Indonesia.

6 On behalf of the littoral States, I would like to convey my appreciation to the many contributors to the ANF, namely The Nippon Foundation, the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation, the Malacca Strait Council, the Republic of India, the United Arab Emirates, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, the IMO, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Japan. This year, we are also glad to welcome new contributions from the United Arab Emirates, as well as pledged contributions from the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation, the Malacca Strait Council, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and the IMO.

7 Ladies and gentlemen, under the able stewardship of Malaysia between 2008 and 2012, the ANF has helped enhance navigational safety in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. As Singapore assumes chairmanship of the ANF committee, we will endeavour to build on Malaysia’s good work and strengthen the ANF. Through your continued and generous support, I am confident that the ANF and the other pillars of the Co-operative Mechanism will further advance safe, open and clean shipping in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

8 I wish everyone a pleasant evening. Thank you.