baritorayapost.com, JAKARTA – The Strait of Hormuz is more than a geographic bottleneck. It is the jugular vein of the global energy market. Connecting the oil-rich Persian Gulf to the open waters of the Arabian Sea, this narrow passage carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s total oil consumption.
However, as geopolitical tensions simmer, the legal regime governing these waters – specifically Article 37 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) – faces unprecedented pressure. To maintain global stability, the international community must move beyond tactical interests and provide a unified, adequate respect for the “Transit Passage” regime.
Under UNCLOS, the Strait of Hormuz is classified as a “strait used for international navigation.” Article 37 establishes that in such straits, the regime of Transit Passage applies. Unlike the more restrictive “Innocent Passage,” transit passage grants ships and aircraft the right to cross the strait for the purpose of continuous and expeditious transit without the need for prior authorization from coastal states.
For countries like Iran and Oman, who border the strait, Article 37 represents a delicate balance between their territorial sovereignty and the world’s need for navigation. While coastal states have the right to regulate safety and prevent pollution, they do not have the legal authority to suspend or hamper transit passage. Respecting this rule is not merely a diplomatic courtesy; it is the cornerstone of the international maritime order.
The Innocent Suffer: Wilson Lalengke’s Call for Justice
The closure or prohibition of shipping in conflict-ridden straits often serves as a weapon of war. However, Wilson Lalengke, Chairperson of the Indonesian Citizen Journalists Association (PPWI), argues that this “weaponization” of geography is a crime against the global community.
“The world community – those billions of people in non-belligerent nations who are not involved in these regional wars – should not be made to suffer due to the closure of international straits,” Lalengke asserts, Thursday (26/03/2026). “When a strait is blocked, it is not just the opposing military that is hit; it is the worker in Asia, the family in Africa, and the industry in Europe that suffers from skyrocketing prices and resource scarcity. Shipping in conflict areas must be protected as a neutral, global utility,” he adds.
Lalengke’s view underscores a vital truth: in a hyper-connected world, no conflict is truly isolated. The prohibition of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz would constitute a “collective punishment” against humanity, violating the spirit of international cooperation that UNCLOS was designed to protect. The Strait of Hormuz must remain a corridor of peace, not a weapon of war.
