Saturday May 24, 2008
Three reasons why island went to Singapore
PETALING JAYA: Failure to show ownership over Pulau Batu Puteh, maps that indicated Singapore's sovereignty over the island, and a reply from a Johor state official saying that the state did not have sovereignty over the island were some of the reasons why Malaysia lost its case.International Court of Justice case acting president Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, when delivering the court's decision in The Hague yesterday, said Johor initially had sovereignty over the island.
However, Johor and subsequently Malaysia lost its ownership to Singapore because of those reasons.
“The Court recalls their (United Kingdom and Singapore) investigation of marine accidents, their control over visits, Singapore’s installation of naval communication equipment and its reclamation plans, all of which include acts à titre de souverain (acts consistent with sovereignty), the bulk of them after 1953,” said Awn Shawkat.
He said Malaysia did not respond to Singapore’s conduct on the island, including the flying of its ensign, except for the republic’s installation of naval communication equipment.
“Further, the Johor authorities and their successors took no action at all on Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh from June 1850 for the whole of the following century or more,” he said.
He also pointed out that Malaysia needed Singapore’s permission before any official visits to the island especially in the 1970s could be made.
As for the Malaysian maps between 1962 and 1975 – which depicted that Pulau Batu Puteh belonged to Singapore, Awn Shawkat said Malaysia's assertion that the map had a disclaimer and did not create ownership of territory could not be accepted.
“The map still stands as a statement of geographical fact, especially when the State adversely affected has itself produced and disseminated it, even against its own interest,” he said.
He said the maps' assertions were consistent to the position of the acting state secretary of Johor in 1953 who said Johor did not claim ownership of Pulau Batu Puteh.
“That statement has major significance. The Court concludes, especially by reference to the conduct of Singapore and its predecessors as à titre de souverain, taken together with the conduct of Malaysia and its predecessors including their failure to respond to the conduct of Singapore and its predecessors, that by 1980 sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh had passed to Singapore,” he said.
Saturday May 24, 2008
A sad Abdullah accepts ICJ ruling
TOKYO: Malaysia accepts the decision of the International Court of Justice on Pulau Batu Puteh, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.Expressing sadness over the court's verdict in handing over sovereignty of the island to Singapore, the Prime Minister said what was significant was that the decision was made at the international level.
“There will be people who will be emotional, especially in Johor. I can understand this. But, the important thing is we have done this through the available legal channel,” he told Malaysian journalists accompanying him on his working visit to Japan.
Looking East: Abdullah shaking hands with his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Fukuda at the start of their meeting at the latter's official residence in Tokyo yesterday. — Reuters He said Malaysia was grateful that the ICJ had awarded Middle Rocks to the nation, adding that the next step was for officials from both sides to meet to decide on the maritime demarcation line as soon as possible.
“Any discussion to be held or action to be taken with Singapore must be done in a peaceful manner and with understanding from both sides. We do not want any conflict to arise,” he stressed.
The Prime Minister also said that action must also be taken to determine the location of South Ledge.
“We need to determine the demarcation line to show that South Ledge is in our waters,” he added.
Abdullah said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim would have an audience with the Johor Sultan to explain in detail the ICJ's decision.
“God willing, I will also have an audience with Tuanku,” he said, as he recorded the Government’s appreciation to the Malaysian legal team.
In JOHOR BARU, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the ICJ's decision meant that Singapore would not be able to make unilateral decisions, such as conducting reclamation work around Pulau Batu Puteh.
He said as Middle Rocks belonged to Malaysia, Singapore could not do anything unilaterally in the surrounding area.
“We got some of what we wanted, so it was not entirely a disappointment. We accept it,” he said, referring to the ICJ’s decision to grant Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore.
On whether he was disappointed with the decision, he replied: “When you go to court, sometimes you win and sometimes you do not. This time, we have partially won. Some will consider this a win-win decision.”
Najib said he understood the feelings of the people, especially Johoreans, over the matter but said they had to accept the ICJ's decision.
“On the ground, nothing much changes as Middle Rocks belongs to us and Pulau Batu Puteh has always been managed by Singapore,” he said, adding that Middle Rocks was important to Malaysia as it defined the country’s maritime border.
The Straits Times
AT THE HAGUE - A LONGSTANDING tussle for sovereignty over Pedra Branca and its outcrops came to an end yesterday when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded the main island to Singapore, and two smaller outcrops nearby to Malaysia.
The court did not make a definitive ruling on the third rock of contention, South Ledge, which is visible only at low tide. It belongs to whoever owns the territorial waters it sits in, said the court.
The judgment was telecast live in both countries, and when Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh concluded his two-hour statement at 6pm, Singaporeans and Malaysians alike applauded the decision.
Malaysia's Foreign Minister Rais Yatim described it as a 'win-win' judgment and said that both countries would 'forge ahead' in their bilateral relationship.
In Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong declared that he was pleased with the result, saying that resorting to the ICJ was 'a good way for (the two countries) to resolve disagreements or problems while maintaining good relations with each other'.
In Malaysia, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak called it a 'balanced decision', with Malaysia 'partly successful' in its territorial claims.
The two hours at the ICJ were suspense-filled and had the Singapore delegation, led by Professor Jayakumar, on the edge of their seats for much of the time.
For the first hour, it actually seemed as if the court would find in Malaysia's favour.
Reasoning from various historical writings, treaties and letters relevant to the case, the court decided that these showed that the Sultanate of Johor possessed original title to the island, dating back to the 16th century.
This meant that the court rejected Singapore's argument that Pedra Branca was terra nullius, that is, belonged to no one, in 1847 when the British took ownership of it and built Horsburgh Lighthouse there.
But things started looking up in the second hour, when the focus shifted to the various activities that Singapore had carried out on the island in the latter half of the 20th century.
These included its investigation into marine accidents in the waters around Pedra Branca, control of visits to the island, plans to reclaim it and installation of military communications equipment there.
The court found that all these activities were carried out a titre de souverain, that is, in a manner that conferred title on the state responsible.
It also noted Malaysia's failure to protest against these acts, all of which - except for the installation of military equipment - it had noticed.
The court also highlighted as of 'major significance' a 1953 letter from the Johor Acting State Secretary informing the colonial authorities in Singapore that Johor did not claim ownership over Pedra Branca.
The reply made clear that in 1953, Johor understood that it did not have sovereignty over Pedra Branca.
That reply would also have left the authorities in Singapore with no reason to doubt that Britain had sovereignty over the island, the court concluded.
The court thus judged that although Johor had possessed an original title to Pedra Branca, that title subsequently passed to Singapore.
The dispute between Singapore and Malaysia over sovereignty of the island arose in February 1980, when Singapore protested against a 1979 Malaysian map that placed Pedra Branca within its territorial waters.
The court ruled that by that critical date, sovereignty over the island had already passed to Singapore.
'The court concludes that sovereignty over Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore.' As Judge Al-Khasawneh pronounced these words, smiles broke out on the Singapore side of the Peace Palace's Great Hall.
The 16 judges of the ICJ voted 12 to four in Singapore's favour.
On the issue of Middle Rocks, the court said that Malaysia's claim of original title still held, as there had been no activities on Singapore's side which made it pass to Singapore.
While the ICJ ruling has settled sovereignty issues, other issues remain.
For one thing, Singapore and Malaysia have to discuss how to delimit the territorial waters in the Pedra Branca and Middle Rocks area.
There will have to be 'sensitive management' of navigational rights, said Mr S. Kesavapany, a former Singapore high commissioner to Malaysia.
'For instance, both our navies will go through the waters, so you need clear understanding of the circumstances under which this can be done,' he said.
A joint technical committee is already in place to discuss these and related issues.
Singapore PM Lee's comments on ICJ judgment
May 24, 2008
Prime Minister's Office
I am pleased with the result. We fully accept the judgment of the ICJ. I am glad that Malaysia has also consistently said that it will accept the ICJ judgment. This is a good way for us to resolve disagreements or problems while maintaining good relations with each other.
Pedra Branca has been a longstanding issue between Malaysia and Singapore. Former Prime Ministers Mahathir Mohamad and Goh Chok Tong agreed to send the dispute for adjudication at the ICJ in September 1994 and to abide by the ICJ's ruling. I remember many years ago in 1995 I visited Malaysia, and spoke at INTAN, their Institute of Public Administration. PM Abdullah Badawi, who was then Foreign Minister, chaired my talk. I was asked whether if the ICJ awarded Pedra Branca to Malaysia, Singapore would accept the judgment. I replied immediately yes of course, and PM Abdullah chipped in to assure the audience that naturally Malaysia would also do so if the judgment went the other way.
I am glad that this problem is now cleared. I will be writing to PM Abdullah to express my thanks to him that both our countries have been able to work together to resolve this problem, and we can now go on to develop our cooperation in many areas, such as the Iskandar Malaysia project.
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