23rd May 2008 - Pulau Batu Putih : Theirs or Ours??

"..My words fly up, My thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go.." - William Shakespeare

Tomorrow, the sovereignty of Pulau Batu Putih or so called Pedra Branca by the Singaporean will be decided. Last year, the hearings which took place at The Hague, Netherlands lasted for 18 days, with Singapore’s claiming its right as it ‘exercised sovereignty’ over Pedra Branca, and Malaysia - based on history, saying it belongs to the Johor Sultanate.

For a quick review, this is where the Pedra Branca lies – 40 km east of Singapore .It commands the eastern entrance of the international lanes into Singapore.An estimated 900 vessel pass through this strait everyday, making it one of the busiest sea lanes in the world. Before this, Malaysian’s fishermen fished in the waters around the area. Singapore has exercised sovereignty over the island. But in 1979, Malaysia published a map which placed Pedra Branca in its territory. In 2003, Singapore and Malaysia agreed to bring the dispute before the ICJ and to accept its decision as final.

As reported by Radio Singapore International on 12 November 2007, 2005 hrs, Singapore main argument to defend its claim over Pedra Branca is…

“…the very simple fact that it has since independence, administrative authority over the island. And since there has been no challenge or no sustained challenge to that, it would be able to rest its claim on that – the actual possession of the island and administering it says has defacto, if not legal jurisdiction over the island and now, over the past 150 years, the British and then Singapore were involved in the maintenance of the lighthouse on Pedra Branca and later added facilities such as helipad...”

As for Malaysia’s argument, as reported by Radio Corporation of Singapore on 16th November 2007

“…Malaysia says Singapore’s activities on Pedra Branca are merely those to be expected of a lighthouse operator and administrator. This was the main trust of arguments brought forward by the Malaysian team on the third day of its oral argument at the International Court of Justice…”

“...Another point Malaysia brought up was that Pedra Branca and the two outcrops of Middle Rock and the South Ledge should be seen as individual features. But Singapore argued that the three should be seen as one because of maps and navigational charts have treated them as a group. South Ledge lies within Singapore’s territorial waters…”

The 28-year old island dispute comes at a time when nations are re-looking at international sea laws and the extent of territorial waters, which was eventually extended to 12 nautical miles from shore.

Come to think about it, what is the significance of Pulau Batu Putih (Pedra Branca) to Malaysia and Singapore at the expense of our bilateral relationship? Win or lose – let us take it coolly and let us respect the ICJ’s final decision for the sake of mankind.