Maritime order becoming 'increasingly fragile', Singapore hub plays crucial role of connectivity during disruptions: DPM Gan
Global maritime order has become «increasingly fragile» in recent times, and hubs like Singapore which offer connectivity, standards and trust are critical, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong on Tuesday (April 21).He was delivering the Singapore Maritime Lecture at the opening of Singapore Maritime Week, which is being held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre from Monday (April 21) to Friday (April 24).DPM Gan pointed to the «broadly stable» maritime system which operated based off the legal order laid down in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.«But what was once a multilateral system underpinned by shared commitment is now increasingly fragile,» he said, highlighting how the blockage at the Strait of Hormuz from the Middle East conflict has «quickly cascaded across the global economy» and affected industries including energy and transport, as well as production chains.He said the global system has seen three structural changes: greater strategic and security considerations, the fragmentation of shared rules, as well as increasing digitalisation and decarbonisation.