While various world leaders have condemned Iran’s blockade of the critical Strait of Hormuz, Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Sadewa, speaking at an infrastructure symposium in Jakarta on 22 April, instead floated the controversial idea of tolling vessels passing through the Strait of Malacca – an equally vital waterway in Southeast Asia transited by around 25 and 30 percent of maritime trade and seaborne oil, respectively.
Monetising maritime chokepoints is a costly business for Southeast Asia
States are willing to subjugate business interests under the pretext of national security. Yet when the neutrality of straits are compromised, businesses and consumers bear the costs.
