Jakarta (ANTARA) – Foreign Minister Sugiono said that a US warship passing through the Malacca Strait on April 18 was part of freedom of navigation in international waters.“It is called a freedom of navigation patrol. That is nothing new,” Sugiono told reporters after a press conference at the Presidential Staff Office in Jakarta on Wednesday.Indonesian Navy Spokesperson First Admiral Tunggul earlier confirmed the US warship was only exercising the right of transit passage—which was valid under the UNCLOS.According to Tunggul, such a right can be exercised by foreign vessels as the Malacca Strait is an international shipping lane bordering Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.The Indonesian Navy stressed that all vessels passing through must respect Indonesia as a coastal state and comply with international maritime safety regulations, including rules on preventing collisions at sea.Meanwhile, Navy Commander Matthew Comer, a spokesman for the US military’s Indo-Pacific Command, identified the warship as the Japan-based USS Miguel Keith, which has been at sea “conducting routine operations in US 7th Fleet”.Commander Comer did not provide details about the destination of the warship, citing US Navy policy not to discuss future operations or movements for security reasons, but said it had undergone maintenance in South Korea in early April.The 900 km-long Malacca Strait links Asia with the Middle East and Europe, carrying around 25 percent of the world’s traded goods, according to The Strait Times.