As a tiny island state at the confluence of key global shipping routes, heavily dependent on maritime trade, Singapore is an ardent advocate for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS.

The devastating impact ofplastic pollution onour fragile marine ecosystemsdemands a global binding agreementto reduce plastic pollution in our oceans. We support the establishment of such an Agreement

As the science and the research haveshown, wemustalso see the oceansasplayinga vital role as a climate mitigator. Wesupport the development of a legallybindinginternational instrument on the conservation and sustainable useof marine biological diversity

Ofvitalimportanceissecuringthelimitsofourmaritimeboundariesagainstthethreatsofsea-levelriseandclimatechange.Kiribatibelievesthatoncedelimitationofourmaritimeboundaryiscom-pletedandsubmittedtotheUNSecretary-GeneralinaccordancewithUNCLOS,maritimeboundarieswouldremainpermanentandshallnotbeaffectedbyclimatechangeandsea-levelrise

The Ocean Panel members have made a commitmentto sustainably manage all of their ocean areas by 2025. That isone third of the world ́s exclusive economic zones.This is a bold target. But our ambition is even bolder:We call on all ocean and coastal states to make a similar commitment by2030.

We welcome recent progress to restore the UN Oceans Summit, now planned for nextyear to be co-hosted by Kenya and Portugal. We look forward to the Our Ocean Summitnext year hosted by Palau. As a nation whose wider territory is 99 percent oceans,leadership is an undeniable priority. Global action on oceans cannot be limited only topiecemeal approaches. Far stronger political will is needed - and as large ocean nations,we are leading by example. Joined by our regional neighbors, we have defined our fixedmaritime boundaries even in the face of rising seas. We have worked with the Pafties tothe Nauru Agreement to move the world towards fully traceable and sustainable tunastocks. As the world's largest tuna port, we have led with our own national action tospur sharp progress on Covid vaccination for foreign fishing crews. Together with theForum Fisheries Agency, we remain committed as a region to ensuring basic minimumsocial and human rights standards for the crew, observers and vessels which fish ourwaters and visit our ports. But this remains incomplete without the stronger commitmentfrom distant water fishing nations, many of whom are also global superpowers. Humanrights apply in the ocean - without exception - just as much as they apply on land.