Singapore is ready to "robustly defend" its sovereignty over the island of Pedra Branca, which is also claimed by Malaysia, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th October, 2022) Singapore is ready to "robustly defend" its sovereignty over the island of Pedra Branca, which is also claimed by Malaysia, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday.
On Thursday, the Malaysian government said that it would continue legal proceedings in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the issue of island's sovereignty.
"Singapore is unable to comment on Malaysia's latest intentions since no details have been shared. Singapore stands ready to robustly defend our sovereignty over Pedra Branca and will deal with whatever legal action Malaysia may pursue," the spokesman said, as quoted by Channel NewsAsia.
Pedra Branca is located about 44 kilometers (27 miles) east of mainland Singapore. In 1979, the dispute over the island began, when Malaysia published a map with the island being within the country's territorial waters. In 2003, the case was taken to the ICJ and on 23 May 2008, the court ruled that Singapore has sovereignty over Pedra Branca.
Following the ruling, Malaysia twice applied to the ICJ for a review of the case. However, in May 2018, Malaysia decided to withdraw its applications.
In June 2019, then-Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that Malaysia agreed with the ICJ decision, noting that this is an example of how ASEAN member states work together with mutual respect.
