Paulina Gretzky: of we have pedra branca ... but what now and what it means.

Friday 23 May 2008

of we have pedra branca ... but what now and what it means.

What now? Has the ruling complicated the matters further? How does this affect territorial waters?

The South Ledge is still not settled.
Original images extracted from ICJ case docket files

Extracted from the ICJ Pedra Branca Press Release,

The Court finds that Singapore has sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh; that Malaysia has sovereignty over Middle Rocks; and that sovereignty over South Ledge belongs to the State in the territorial waters of which it is located.

In its Judgment, which is final, binding and without appeal, the Court
- finds by twelve votes to four that sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh belongs to the Republic of Singapore;
- finds by fifteen votes to one that sovereignty over Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia;
- finds by fifteen votes to one that sovereignty over South Ledge belongs to the State in the territorial waters of which it is located.

Image extracted from Memorial of Singapore
Pedra Branca (with lighthouse) and Middle Rocks in the background. View taken from North to South.

Go to ICJ website for more information on the case.

Extracted from Wikipedia,

Implication of the ICJ Decision

The decision by the ICJ to award Pedra Branca to Singapore but to decide that Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia is seen as a Pyrrhic victory. This is because the issue now turns to ownership of the surrounding territorial waters which would be hotly contested due to the close locations of both geographical feature. Nevertheless, it is estimated that Malaysia has lost 13km² of territory due to the ICJ decision.

The Malaysian Foreign Minister, Dato Sri Rais Yatim, on 23 May 2008 in a live interview after the ICJ's announcement, described the ICJ decision as a "win-win" situation. Further, he announced that a technical committee would be set up between Malaysia and Singapore to decide whether South Ledge falls withing the the territorial waters of either Malaysia or Singapore. It may be argued that the ICJ ruling construes a partial victory for Singapore given that while it affirmed its sovereignty over Pedra Branca, the ICJ decided to give Middle Rocks to Malaysia while the ownership of South Ledge is in dispute. The decision is not yet final and subject to appeal.[36] The judgment never totally resolved the dispute for it only determined the ownership of the main islet but not where the maritime boundary is. But the two countries set up a joint technical committee to enforce the judgment.