KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Putrajaya has requested an interpretation from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding its 2008 judgement on Malaysia and Singapore’s sovereignty dispute over Pulau Batu Puteh, also known as Pedra Branca.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali said that the interpretation request, filed on June 30, is separate from Malaysia’s filing back in February for a revision of the ICJ judgement.
Apandi said that ICJ’s statute allows for it to provide the meaning and scope of its judgement should there be a dispute between two parties over the meaning of its judgement
Despite the judgement awarding the sovereignty of the small island to Singapore, Apandi pointed out Malaysia and Singapore have been unable to make progress in a joint committee they had established to both implement the judgement and finish the delimitation of their territorial waters.
“One reason for this impasse is that the Parties have been unable to agree over the meaning of the 2008 Judgement as it concerns South Ledge and the waters surrounding Pedra Branca/ Pulau Batu Puteh,” Apandi said in a statement today.
“Throughout the post-Judgement period, both Malaysia and Singapore have issued a large number of official protests in respect of incidents alleged to have taken place on, over and around South Ledge, as well as in the disputed waters surrounding Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh and the airspace above these waters,” he added.
He said that the interpretation request pertains to two main areas of the judgement, that the rocky island belongs to Singapore, and that the South Ledge belongs to the state in whose territorial waters it is located.
Apandi said that Malaysia is now seeking the ICJ to declare that Pulau Batu Puteh remains in the territorial waters of Malaysia, and that sovereignty of South Ledge belongs to Malaysia.
“Malaysia considers that it is necessary to request an interpretation of the 2008 Judgement from the ICJ as it would serve as a basis for the maintenance of orderly and peaceful relations between the Parties in the management of their maritime zones and airspace in the future,” he said.
