What the case is about

The Straits Times, November 7, 2007



A DISPUTE between Singapore and Malaysia over sovereignty over Pedra Branca and two outcrops - the Middle Rocks and South Ledge.

Pedra Branca, which the Malaysians call Pulau Batu Puteh, is an islet the size of a football field located some 40km east of Singapore.

It stands strategically at the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait, through which some 900 ships pass each day.

Singapore has exercised sovereignty over the islet since the 1840s when the British colonial government built the Horsburgh lighthouse there.

But in 1979, Malaysia staked a claim on the islet when it published a new map of its territories.

In 2003, the two countries signed a Special Agreement referring the dispute to the International Court of Justice.

Legal teams from both sides will appear before the court over three weeks to make their oral arguments. A judgment is expected next year.



WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY

THE hearing opened with Singapore presenting its case first. Its arguments centred on the point that Malaysia has no evidence that Pedra Branca was ever part of the Johor sultanate, as it claims.

In contrast, Singapore has carried out many activities that showed it has all along considered the islet to be part of its territory.

Singapore will continue presenting its arguments until Friday.