Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Pedra Branca

I have not been following closely the arguments presented by Singapore at the hearings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning the sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh which is also claimed by Malaysia.

I understand that one of the main points put up by Singapore is that “since 1847, Britain and its successor, Singapore, have exercise sovereignty over the island through activities that were an open, continuous and effective display of state control” (Straits Times, 13 November, 2007)

In this regard, I wonder if our team had mentioned the fact that we even have a stamp issued in 1982 featuring the Horsburg Lighthouse on this island.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Today it is Pedra Branca and tomorrow it may be Singapore itself. If we go by the sovereignity of a country based on historical facts there would be no end to human conflicts. Just imagine what will happen if the Red Indians in North America are to demand that all the other US races should chased out because they are the original people of that country. Both the world wars started oof largely due to territorial disputes. I think Singapore and Malaysia are sensible enough to let the Internation Court decides the outcome of Pedra Branca once and for all, otherwise this problem would still remained unsolved for generations to come.