The Pedra Branca dispute was a territorial dispute between Singapore and Malaysia over several islets at the eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait, namely Pedra Branca (previously called Pulau Batu Puteh and now Batu Puteh by Malaysia), Middle Rocks and South Ledge. The dispute began in 1979 and was largely resolved by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2008, which opined that Pedra Branca belonged to Singapore and Middle Rocks belonged to Malaysia. Sovereignty over South Ledge belongs to the state in the territorial waters of which it is located.
In early 1980, Singapore lodged a formal protest with Malaysia in response to a map published by Malaysia in 1979 claiming Pedra Branca. In 1989 Singapore proposed submitting the dispute to the ICJ. Malaysia agreed to this in 1994. In 1993, Singapore also claimed the nearby islets Middle Rocks and South Ledge. In 1998 the two countries agreed on the text of a Special Agreement that was needed to submit the dispute to the ICJ. The Special Agreement was signed in February 2003, and the ICJ formally notified of the Agreement in July that year. The hearing before the ICJ was held over three weeks in November 2007 under the name Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malaysia v. Singapore).
Singapore argued that Pedra Branca was terra nullius, and that there was no evidence the island had ever been under the sovereignty of the Johor Sultanate. In the event the Court did not accept this argument, Singapore contended that sovereignty over the island had passed to Singapore due to the consistent exercise of authority over the island by Singapore and its predecessor, the United Kingdom. The actions taken included selecting Pedra Branca as the site for Horsburgh Lighthouse and constructing the lighthouse, requiring Malaysian officials wishing to visit the island to obtain permits, installing a military rebroadcast station on the island, and studying the feasibility of reclaiming land around the island. Malaysia had remained silent in the face of these activities. In addition, it had confirmed in a 1953 letter that Johor did not claim ownership of the island, and had published official reports and maps indicating that it regarded Pedra Branca as Singapore territory. Middle Rocks and South Ledge should be regarded as dependencies of Pedra Branca.
Malaysia's case was that Johor had original title to Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. Johor had not ceded Pedra Branca to the United Kingdom, but had merely granted permission for the lighthouse to be built and maintained on it. The actions of the United Kingdom and Singapore in respect of the Horsburgh Lighthouse and the waters surrounding the island were not actions of the island's sovereign. Further, the 1953 letter had been unauthorised and the official reports and maps it had issued were either irrelevant or inconclusive.
On 23 May 2008, the Court ruled that Pedra Branca is under Singapore's sovereignty, while Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia. As regards South Ledge, the Court noted that it falls within the apparently overlapping territorial waters generated by mainland Malaysia, Pedra Branca and Middle Rocks. As it is a maritime feature visible only at low tide, it belongs to the state in the territorial waters of which it is located. Malaysia and Singapore have established what they have named the Joint Technical Committee to delimit the maritime boundary in the area around Pedra Branca and Middle Rocks, and to determine the ownership of South Ledge.
Dispute
Pedra Branca is a small granite outcrop located east of Singapore and south of Johor, Malaysia,, para. 16. where the Singapore Strait meets the South China Sea. There are two maritime features near the island: Middle Rocks, south of Pedra Branca, which consists of two clusters of small rocks about apart; and South Ledge, south-south-west of Pedra Branca, which is visible only at low tide.Pedra Branca case, para. 18.
Singapore has been administering Pedra Branca since Horsburgh Lighthouse was built on the island by its predecessor, the United Kingdom, between 1850 and 1851. Singapore was ceded by Sultan Hussein Shah and Temenggung Abdul Rahman Sri Maharajah of Johor to the British East India Company under a Treaty of Friendship and Alliance of 2 August 1824 (the Crawfurd Treaty), and became part of the Straits Settlements in 1826. At the time when the lighthouse on the island was constructed, the Straits Settlements were under British rule through the Government of India.Pedra Branca case, paras. 22 and 24.
On 21 December 1979, the Director of National Mapping of Malaysia published a map entitled Territorial Waters and Continental Shelf Boundaries of Malaysia showing Pedra Branca to be within its territorial waters. Singapore rejected this "claim" in a diplomatic note of 14 February 1980 and asked for the map to be corrected.Pedra Branca case, paras. 30 and 31. In the late 1980s, Attorney-General of Singapore Tan Boon Teik was despatched by the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew to disclose the documentary evidence which Singapore had to the Malaysian Attorney-General, to demonstrate the strength of Singapore's case.. However, the dispute was not resolved by an exchange of correspondence and intergovernmental talks in 1993 and 1994. In the first round of talks in February 1993 the issue of sovereignty over Middle Rocks and South Ledge was also raised. Malaysia and Singapore therefore agreed to submit the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Procedural matters
Singapore first suggested submitting the territorial dispute to the ICJ in 1989. The suggestion was accepted by Malaysia in 1994. In 1998, the text of a Special Agreement to bring the matter before the ICJ was agreed, and the Agreement was signed by the two countries at Putrajaya, Malaysia, on 6 February 2003.. See also . It was notified to the Court in July 2003.Pedra Branca case, para. 31. The case was assigned the name Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malaysia v. Singapore).
Following directions issued by the Court, the parties exchanged memorials on 25 March 2004, counter-memorials on 25 January 2005, and replies on 25 November 2005.Pedra Branca case, paras. 4 and 5; . As the parties informed the Court by a letter dated 23 January 2006 that rejoinders were unnecessary, the written proceedings were closed.Pedra Branca case, para. 6. The Court determined by drawing lots that Singapore would present its case first.Pedra Branca case, para. 9. Public hearings were held between 6 and 23 November 2007, with Singapore presenting its case from 6 to 9 November, and Malaysia doing the same from 13 to 16 November 2007. Each country was then given two days to respond, with 19 and 20 November allocated to Singapore, and 22 and 23 November allocated to Malaysia.Pedra Branca case, para. 12.; ; . The persons who spoke for the parties were: For Singapore: Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore); Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore (acting as Singapore's Agent); Chao Hick Tin, Attorney-General of Singapore (Counsel and Advocate); Chan Sek Keong, Chief Justice of Singapore (Counsel and Advocate); Alain Pellet, Professor at the Paris X University Nanterre; member and former Chairman of the United Nations International Law Commission; associate member of the Institut de Droit International (Counsel and Advocate); Ian Brownlie, C.B.E., Q.C., F.B.A.; member of the English Bar; Chairman of the UN International Law Commission; Emeritus Chichele Professor of Public International Law, University of Oxford; member of the Institut de Droit International; Distinguished Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford (Counsel and Advocate); Rodman R. Bundy, avocat à la Cour d'Appel de Paris; member of the New York State Bar Association; Frere Cholmeley/Eversheds, Paris (Counsel and Advocate); Loretta Malintoppi, avocat à la Cour d'Appel de Paris; member of the Rome Bar; Frere Cholmeley/Eversheds, Paris (Counsel and Advocate); and S. Jayakumar, Deputy Prime Minister; Co-ordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Law; Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore (Counsel and Advocate). For Malaysia: Abdul Kadir Mohamad, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia; Adviser for Foreign Affairs to the Prime Minister (Malaysia's Agent); Farida Ariffin, Ambassador of Malaysia to the Netherlands (Co-Agent); Abdul Gani Patail, Attorney-General of Malaysia (Counsel); Elihu Lauterpacht, C.B.E., Q.C., Honorary Professor of International Law, University of Cambridge; member of the Institut de Droit International; member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (Counsel); James Crawford, S.C., F.B.A., Whewell Professor of International Law, University of Cambridge; member of the Institut de Droit International (Counsel); Nicolaas Jan Schrijver, Professor of Public International Law, Leiden University; associate member of the Institut de Droit International (Counsel); Marcelo Kohen, Professor of International Law, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva; associate member of the Institut de Droit International (Counsel); and Penelope Nevill, college lecturer, Downing College, Cambridge.
The case was presided over by ICJ Vice-President Judge Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, alongside 13 other judges and two ad hoc judges appointed by the two countries. The judges were Raymond Ranjeva from Madagascar, Shi Jiuyong from the People's Republic of China, Abdul G. Koroma from Sierra Leone, Gonzalo Parra Aranguren from Venezuela, Thomas Buergenthal from the United States, Hisashi Owada from Japan, Bruno Simma from Germany, Peter Tomka from Slovakia, Ronny Abraham from France, Kenneth Keith from New Zealand, Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor from Mexico, Mohamed Bennouna from Morocco and Leonid Skotnikov from Russia. As the Bench of the Court did not include any judges of the nationality of either party, the parties exercised their right to choose judges ad hoc to sit in the case. Singapore appointed Pemmaraju Sreenivasa Rao from India, and Malaysia Christopher John Robert Dugard from South Africa.Pedra Branca case, para. 7.
Singapore's case
Pedra Branca terra nullius
Singapore argued that in 1847 Pedra Branca was terra nullius (Latin for "land belonging to no one") as it had never been the subject of a prior claim or manifestation of sovereignty by any sovereign entity. It denied Malaysia's claim that the island had been under Johor's sovereignty.Pedra Branca case, para. 40. It contended there was no evidence that the Johor Sultanate had claimed or exercised authority over Pedra Branca between 1512 and 1641. This period began with the fall of the Malacca Sultanate to the Portuguese in 1512, who continued to harass the Johor Sultanate during this time, as did the Aceh Sultanate. Similarly, there was no evidence of Johor's sovereignty over Pedra Branca between 1641 and 1699, when Johor's power and influence were at their height; between 1699 and 1784 when the death of Sultan Mahmud Shah II in 1699 without a clear heir led to instability, during which many vassals broke away from the Sultanate; and between 1784 and 1824 when, according to a 1949 annual report of the Johor government, the Sultanate was in a "state of dissolution" by the beginning of the 19th century.Pedra Branca case, paras. 49 and 51...