Singapore, Malaysia go to international court to settle island row

Singapore, Malaysia go to international court to settle island row
Posted : Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:08:01 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Legal (General)
News Alerts by Email click here )
Create your own RSS

Legal General News | Home




Singapore - Singapore and Malaysia will appear before the International Court of
Justice in the Netherlands next week to settle their claims to a strategically
located island. Both countries have said they will accept the court's decision
on Pedra Branca and two outcrops in the Singapore Strait as the final word in
the 28-year disagreement.

The hearings in the Hague, where the 15-member court is located, follow three
rounds of pleadings between the two countries from March 2004 to November 2005.

The city-state has exercised sovereignty over the island since the 1840s when
the British colonial government built a lighthouse there. The island, about 40
kilometres east of Singapore, is strategically located at the eastern entrance
of the strait.

Malaysia staked its claim to the island in 1979 and calls it Pulau Batu Putih,
triggering the row.

An agreement was signed on February 6, 2003 to submit the dispute to the
international body.

The court said on its website Wednesday that the city-state will have four days
starting November 6 to present its case. Malaysia will make its case from
November 13 to 16.

The court has set aside three weeks for the case, a Singapore Ministry of
Foreign Affairs statement said.
============================================================
[IN REPLYING/DETERING TROLLS PLEASE DELETE THIS CROSSPOST]
============================================================
.

Relevant Pages