Singapore’s government has agreed to temporarily suspend development plans and reclamation activities on an island that had been in dispute with Malaysia, according to Malaysia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mohamad Alamin.
Mohamad told parliament that Singapore has no right to continue its activities on the island until both countries have finalised their maritime borders.
“Apart from delimiting the maritime border, negotiations to discuss Singapore’s unilateral development plan in Batu Puteh have also been initiated by both countries,” he said.
In 2008, the International Court of Justice ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over the island called Batu Puteh in Malaysia and Pedra Branca in Singapore. The outcrop is 7.7 nautical miles from the Malaysian state of Johor and 24 miles east of Singapore. Located on the eastern approach to the Singapore Strait, almost 900 ships pass the island each day, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its website.
