After scrapping the high-speed rail project between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, here’s another cancellation from Malaysia’s newly elected prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. Our northern neighbors have decided to drop their pursuit to possess Pedra Branca.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) stated yesterday it had been informed by the International Court of Justice that Malaysia has decided to drop their challenge to the court’s 2008 judgment, which awarded sovereignty of the island to Singapore.
The small outlying island in the easternmost point of Singapore has long been a source of contention between the two countries. After all, the island is in a strategically important position, located 44km off Singapore’s east coast.
Singapore had operated the Horsburgh Lighthouse on the granite island for more than 130 years without protest from its neighbor. But in a map of its maritime boundaries drawn up in 1980, Kuala Lumpur staked its claim to the islet. After years of failed negotiations, the parties turned to ICJ in 2003, and it was only in 2008 that ICJ ruled the island belonged to Singapore. Another rocky outcrop called Middle Rocks was found to belong to Malaysia, while a low-tide bank called South Ledge was deemed to be in overlapping territorial waters.
But in its 2017 filing, Malaysia asked the court to revise that judgment based on the discovery of three documents in the British national archives between August 2016 and late January 2017.
After years of dissension over a rock, the legal proceedings won’t be continued after all — a fact that Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan was all too happy to agree with.
“When Malaysia requested to discontinue the cases, without them being argued, we were happy to agree,” said Dr. Balakrishnan in response to the development.
“Both Malaysia and Singapore had gone through the due legal process and put this matter to rest.”
Middle Rocks
Magnanimous as the move may be, the Malaysian prime minister has a surprise up his sleeve. In a press conference, Tun Dr. Mahathir revealed plans to literally expand their own jurisdiction with Middle Rocks, located about 1km south of Pedra Branch.
“It is our intention to enlarge Middle Rocks so we can form a small island for us,” Mahathir told reporters, without giving further details.
As reported in Bernama last year, Malaysia has already set up a maritime installation on Middle Rocks, complete with a jetty, a helipad, and a lighthouse. The structure was built to conduct marine scientific research, and of course, reaffirm Malaysia’s “absolute sovereignty” over Middle Rocks.
Pedra Branca may no longer be in the sights for Malaysia, and there definitely has to be a strong motive for letting the bird poop-covered island go after all those years of bickering. What Malaysia has in mind for Middle Rocks in the future will be key to understanding why.
With text by AFP
