Remarks by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan at the Launch of the OceanX-NUS Deep Sea Research Expedition, 4 October 2025

Ray and Barbara, and Mark Dalio,

Professor Tan Eng Chye, Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Singapore (NUS),

Dr. Vincent Pieribone, 

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

If you forget everything I say today, I just want to leave three words with you: to discover, to protect, and to share. Now, let me explain those three words.

I am glad to be back onboard the OceanXplorer; in fact, I was aboard in Nice in June. It’s taken you 55 sea days to reach Singapore. It is an honour and pleasure for me to be here to witness the launch of the deep-sea research expedition undertaken by NUS and OceanX. I am glad to note the involvement of scientists from our ASEAN neighbours and other small island developing states. This is representative of how Singapore approaches the future: with—no pun intended—deep curiosity, and through partnerships, and the commitment to uncover and share knowledge as our most valuable resource.

Mr. Dalio told me that his love for the oceans started 50 to 60 years ago, when he watched “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau”. And maybe a quotation from Jacques would be in order, and he said, “the Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” I think it caught Ray Dalio in its net. It is out of this sense of wonder that we are here today, and we really need to thank Ray and his family for pushing the limits of innovation on sustainability and ocean science, and glad that it’s starting here in Singapore.

After all, we are a maritime nation, and for Singapore, we know instinctively and deeply that our future is inextricably linked to the oceans. Our prosperity, our connectivity, our identity, our economy, all flow from our relationship with the sea. And today, we take this relationship literally to new heights—or maybe I should say, new depths—as we embark on this ambitious scientific endeavour to explore the mysteries of the deep sea.

This expedition is not just about satisfying scientific curiosity but also taking responsibility to understand and protect our global commons. Remember that I said “discover”. Most of the deep ocean remains unexplored, and I discovered a new factoid, which is that we may actually have more detailed visual maps of the surface of Mars than detailed topography of the depths of our ocean. Think about that—right at our doorstep, and it is still not fully explored yet and waiting to be discovered.

That is why expeditions like this one matter. By mapping and documenting our deep-sea terrain in the oceans using advanced technologies like the submersibles you see beside and behind us, and this expedition will deepen and broaden our understanding of unexplored areas beneath the ocean’s surface.

Whilst we explore the oceans and increase our understanding, there is also the need to safeguard the resources of the high seas and the deep seabed. I am glad to inform you that just two weeks ago, in New York, we reached the threshold of 60 ratifications, which means the High Seas Treaty on protecting Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) will come into force in January.

On behalf of [NUS Vice-Chancellor] Professor Tan [Eng Chye], let me say that NUS and OceanX are committed to ensuring that this expedition will adhere to all the provisions of the BBNJ Agreement. This is where the third word comes in: to discover, to protect, and to share. This means sharing rigorous scientific best practices and data, and making it available for the common accessibility in a repository of knowledge of mankind. I also want to congratulate all the scientists who will be engaged in this endeavour. 

My next point is that Singapore is a State Party to the BBNJ Agreement, and Ambassador Rena Lee, a Singaporean international legal expert, presided over the inter-governmental conference that led to this treaty. In this day and age of fractious difficult diplomacy, to arrive at a treaty by consensus is an enormous achievement and we congratulate her. Therefore, this also means that Singapore will continue to advocate for an inclusive approach to marine conservation. In this spirit of partnership, we warmly welcome experienced scientists from all over the world, including Fiji, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, and others onboard this expedition. Their regional expertise will complement OceanX’s cutting‑edge technology and NUS’ world‑class research capabilities. We believe this will be a very strong foundation for collaboration and joint research and it underscores our conviction that small states matter; we have agency, and we can make a difference, particularly by leading in collaboration and sharing.

The third point is that this expedition also demonstrates the importance of the BBNJ Agreement in facilitating the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the high seas. The specimens and findings that will be collected during this expedition will be made accessible to all by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in Singapore. For those of you who have not yet visited the museum, please spend a couple of hours there I am sure you will enjoy, and you will be enriched by it.

Let me end by saying congratulations to Ray on this latest expedition. You have spent a lot of your life at boundaries, at frontiers, and I think in this next phase, the frontiers will be under the seas, in the deep oceans. This takes place at a delicate time for the planet, with climate change, difficult diplomacy and fractious foreign relations, but also a time of big opportunities for scientific technological advances.

So, I wish the entire NUS-OceanX expedition team fair winds and following seas. Go forth, explore, discover, protect and share.

Thank you all.

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