SINGAPORE, April 7 -- Singapore will not engage in negotiations with Iran for safe passage of ships or toll rate on the Straits of Hormuz, in line with its principle of not taking sides, said Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

He said the republic is in view that the passage through the strait is a right to all nations and not a privilege to be granted by its bordering states.

"It is not a licence to be supplicated for. It is not a toll to be paid. It is a right of all nations' ships to traverse.

"This right is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), of which, obviously, Singapore is a signatory and has ratified," he said in response to a question in Parliament yesterday regarding the impact of ...