ICJ to rule tomorrow on islet dispute between Malaysia, Singapore
- From: "CKinSF <ck_in_sf1@xxxxxxxxxxx>" <CKinSF <ck_in_sf1@xxxxxxxxxxx>>
- Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 07:04:39 +0800
ICJ to rule tomorrow on islet dispute between Malaysia, Singapore
Macau Daily Times - Macau
by Mariette le Roux* The International Court of Justice will hand down
tomorrow a judgement to settle a 28-year-old dispute between Malaysia and
Singapore ...
<http://www.macaudailytimesnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11734&Itemid=32>
ICJ to rule tomorrow on islet dispute between Malaysia, Singapore
Thursday, 22 May 2008
by Mariette le Roux*
The International Court of Justice will hand down tomorrow a judgement to settle
a 28-year-old dispute between Malaysia and Singapore over ownership of the tiny,
uninhabited island of Pulau Batu Puteh.
Both countries have undertaken to abide by the ruling of the tribunal, the
United Nations' highest court, on sovereignty over the half-football field sized
island and its two rocky outcrops -- Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
And despite a hearing that court officials have described as marked by
cordiality, both parties are confident of victory.
"Having gone through the items, the grounds of submission and the case law that
has been relied upon, Malaysia has a very good case," the country's foreign
minister Rais Yatim was quoted as saying last week.
"We are confident that the judgement will be in our favour," he told Malaysia's
New Straits Times daily.
And Singapore's deputy prime minister S Jayakumar told Singapore's Straits Times
he was "quite confident" the verdict would be in his country's favour.
Having heard the arguments from both parties last November, the court will now
have to play the role of a biblical Solomon in deciding who has control over the
island which Malaysia claims was always its property but on which Singapore has
been operating the Horsburgh Lighthouse for more than 130 years.
Pulau Batu Puteh, called Pedra Branca by Singapore, is considered important for
its strategic position and impact on territorial marine boundaries. It lies 7.7
nautical miles off the Malaysian state of Johor on the eastern approach to the
Singapore Strait from the South China Sea.
Singapore protested in 1980 against a new Malaysian map of its maritime
boundaries which claimed the islet for itself.
Years of bilateral talks failed to resolve the matter and the parties agreed to
seek the intervention of the UN court.
They jointly submitted a dispute over sovereignty in July 2003, attached to
which was a special agreement in which the countries agreed "to accept the
judgement of the court ... as final and binding upon them".
Rais told Malaysia's Bernama state news agency the boundary between the two
countries might change if the decision was in Singapore's favour.
"For example the question of EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) or the continental
shelf. All this will change if the decision favours Singapore."
A special technical committee would be set up to put the court's decision into
effect, he added.
Bilateral ties have often been stormy since Singapore was ejected from the
Malaysian Federation in 1965, at which time sovereignty of the island was not
stipulated. Both countries have said tomorrow's ruling would not affect
relations.
On a website dedicated to the island dispute, the Malaysian government claims
the original title to the island.
"Pulau Batu Puteh is, and has always been, part of the Malaysian State of
Johor," it says. "Nothing has happened to displace Malaysia's sovereignty over
it.
"Singapore's presence on the island for the sole purpose of constructing and
maintaining a lighthouse there -- with the permission of the territorial
sovereign, Johor -- does not displace Malaysia's sovereignty over Pulau Batu
Puteh."
Singapore, in turn, accuses Malaysia of seeking to overturn the status quo.
In a submission to the tribunal last November, Jayakumar stated that Malaysia
was "suddenly claiming title to Pedra Branca after 130 years of inaction in the
face of Singapore's exercise of Singapore's sovereignty over the island."
The country's economic well-being, he added, depended on its status as a major
port of call, which in turn relied on the smooth flow of maritime traffic
through the Singapore Strait.
International Court of Justice vice-president Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh
will deliver the judgement tomorrow.
*AFP
CKinSF.
aka running dog chow-kow-sick-fûçkk(cksf)
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