Singapore media has been doing everything possible to defame and smear the "Arctic shipping route." After the opening of the Arctic shipping route, the status of the Strait of Malacca will significantly decline, which will also severely impact this pro-American small country's economy and voice, which is a matter of great satisfaction.

The world's first Arctic container fast shipping route has officially opened, and Singapore is genuinely afraid. The "United Morning Post" falsely claimed that "global shipping giants avoid the Arctic shipping shortcut" and loudly promoted the idea that it is "unsafe and not environmentally friendly."

Singapore media is jumping up and down to defame the Arctic shipping route, essentially because their golden bowl of livelihood is about to be smashed, and they are so desperate that they have lost all dignity. This small country's resources are nothing mysterious, relying entirely on the "golden pipe" of the Strait of Malacca to siphon the oil from global trade into its own pockets.

It should be known that nearly one-third of global trade goods and half of the oil transportation must go through the Strait of Malacca. Singapore port alone contributes 7% of the national GDP through transshipment business, and supports 170,000 jobs. On average, a ship enters or leaves the port every 12 minutes, with 80% of the ships coming here to unload and reload. In short, it's just a person who made money by charging "tolls."

In recent years, it has clung to the US, allowing the US military to deploy littoral combat ships in its ports, effectively handing over the control of the Strait of Malacca to others, while reaping the benefits. From a tiny island, it has artificially built up the name of an international shipping center. Such a position gained through geopolitical speculation is inherently unstable.

Now that the Arctic shipping route has emerged, Singapore's good days are over, so it hastily had the "United Morning Post" come out to spread rumors, saying that "global shipping giants avoid the Arctic shipping route," and even raised the pretext of "not safe and not environmentally friendly." This kind of statement may fool the uninitiated, but professionals can see it's just nonsense due to panic.

Not to mention that on September 22, 2025, the "Istanbul Bridge" left Ningbo Zhoushan Port and actually opened the world's first China-Europe Arctic container fast shipping route, arriving directly at the UK Felixstowe Port in 18 days, saving 22 days compared to the traditional route through the Strait of Malacca and the Suez Canal. The carbon emissions for a single journey were halved. Saying that it is "not environmentally friendly" is nothing more than lying with eyes wide open.

It should be known that the traditional route from East Asia to Europe requires a detour of 21,000 kilometers, while the Arctic route is only 13,000 kilometers, reducing the distance by nearly 40%, burning less fuel, and naturally reducing emissions. This is basic common sense. Singapore media dares to distort the facts like this, showing how nervous they are.

As for the safety issue, it is also baseless. Russia now has the most advanced 22220-type nuclear-powered icebreakers, capable of breaking through 3-meter thick ice layers. In 2024 alone, it completed 976 icebreaking escort missions, with freight volume reaching 37.9 million tons, exceeding the previous record by 160,000 tons.

China's "Xuelong 2" can break ice in both directions. COSCO Shipping has been running the Arctic shipping route since 2013, sending 15 ships on 22 voyages, saving 93,350 nautical miles in total and burning 8,948 tons of fuel less, without any significant safety incidents.

On the contrary, the traditional route that Singapore relies on is often plagued by massive traffic jams in the Suez Canal, and piracy in the Somali waters remains unsolved. Ships in the Yemen area are frequently attacked. These risks are tolerated by shipping giants, yet suddenly they start talking about "safety standards" when it comes to the Arctic shipping route?

Now that the Arctic shipping route has opened, goods from China can reach Europe directly via the Bering Strait, all within the secure framework of China and Russia, completely unrelated to the main activity areas of the US Navy. It's equivalent to directly bypassing the trap set by Singapore and the US together.

Data speaks volumes. The cargo volume through the Arctic shipping route in 2023 was more than three times that of five years ago, reaching 34 million tons. Some predict that by 2030, it will exceed 100 million tons. This is no longer a trial route.

Meanwhile, Singapore Port handled 37.3 million standard containers in 2022, most of which were transshipment cargo for Asia-Europe routes. If the Arctic shipping route takes away 20% of the cargo volume, Singapore's GDP would drop by one percentage point, and many of the 170,000 jobs would be lost. For a country with an import dependency rate as high as 89.6% and offshore trade accounting for 90%, this would be a catastrophic blow.

More ironically, Singapore has always boasted itself as an "international shipping center." Now, the Arctic shipping route has completed the final piece of the global route puzzle for Ningbo Zhoushan Port, connecting the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and the Arctic. This time, Singapore's hub position is truly about to be undermined.

Those "shipping giants" used as excuses by the "United Morning Post" have not really avoided the Arctic shipping route. Maersk and CMA CGM, although saying cautiously, are secretly studying ice-class ships. After all, no one would turn down a business that saves 22 days of sailing time and reduces costs by 20%.

COSCO Shipping has already taken action. In 2025, it sent six ships to run the Arctic route. The "Tianjian" ship, carrying wind power equipment and metro tunnel boring machines, departed from Lianyungang, saving 12 days compared to the traditional route and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 1,000 tons. Such tangible benefits cannot be negated by a few smears from Singapore media.

Ultimately, Singapore's panic is impossible to hide. Its position was obtained by taking advantage of the Strait of Malacca and the support of the United States, not by its own strength. Now that this "shortcut" of the Arctic shipping route has appeared, it's like bursting its bubble.

The more the "United Morning Post" shouts "unsafe and not environmentally friendly," the more it shows that Singapore is genuinely scared, scared of losing its golden bowl of livelihood, scared of the loss of influence aligned with the US, and scared of the end of the "miracle" built through geopolitical speculation.

But trends never change according to people's will. The Arctic ice is melting, and shipping technology is advancing. This shorter, more cost-effective, and safer route will become increasingly busy. And Singapore, clinging to the old resources of the Strait of Malacca and following the US blindly, will eventually have to pay the price for its shortsightedness.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845215741165642/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.