SINGAPORE - A plan by Malaysia to set up a royal commission of inquiry to study a 2018 decision to drop a review of an international court’s ruling on three disputed islets, including Pedra Branca, is a Malaysian “internal matter” and will not affect bilateral ties, Singapore said on Jan 25.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), in response to a query from The Straits Times, said in a statement: “The Royal Commission of Inquiry is an internal matter of Malaysia.
“We do not see this affecting the good bilateral relations between Singapore and Malaysia.”
MFA said the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded sovereignty over Pedra Branca to Singapore on May 23, 2008, in the case concerning sovereignty over Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
“Both Singapore and Malaysia have publicly announced that they will accept and abide by the Court’s decision which is final,” the statement added.
Malaysia’s Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, said on Jan 24: “The Cabinet has agreed to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to study the handling of cases related to Batu Puteh, Batuan Tengah and Tubir Selatan.”
Malaysia uses Malay names to refer to Pedra Branca (Batu Puteh) and the two maritime outcrops – Middle Rocks (Batuan Tengah) and South Ledge (Tubir Selatan).
Mr Zuki said Malaysia’s King will approve the members of the commission, who will be chosen for their expertise in judicial, legal and public administration matters, and “who can carry out a transparent, fair and equal investigation”.
The decision to drop the review was made by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he became prime minister after the 2018 polls.
Pedra Branca is located at the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait, about 24 nautical miles east of Singapore. To its south are Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
The ICJ in 2008 awarded sovereignty over Pedra Branca to Singapore, after both countries took the territorial dispute to the court.
The court also decided that sovereignty over Middle Rocks belonged to Malaysia, and sovereignty over South Ledge belonged to the state in the territorial waters in which it is located.
Malaysia and Singapore have set up a joint technical committee to draw the maritime boundary around Pedra Branca and Middle Rocks, and to determine the ownership of South Ledge.
Both countries said in 2008 that they would accept and abide by the court’s decision, which is final.
However, Malaysia in 2017, under then Premier Najib Razak, started an application for revision of the ICJ’s 2008 decision, citing new evidence that it had. A hearing was subsequently set for June 2018.
But Dr Mahathir decided in May 2018 to abandon the proceedings.
Under the ICJ statute, an application for revision cannot be made more than 10 years after the court’s judgment on May 23, 2008.
In December 2022, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim instructed then Attorney-General Idrus Harun to review matters pertaining to claims over Pedra Branca, which he said would allow negotiations with Singapore over the island to be more fruitful.
In January 2023, the Attorney-General’s Chambers said it was studying the recommendations made by a special task force the government had set up previously.
