CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VIII (1) ContemporaryEurasia81 | Page 79

YULONG DAI
The 2008 judgment on the Pedra Branca dispute is de facto
unfinished, leaving a more challenging and complicated result for the two
claimants to deal with. According to the Court, Pedra Branca and Middle
Rocks were respectively awarded to Singapore and Malaysia, while the legal
status of South Ledge remains undecided because it falls within overlapping
territorial waters of Pedra Branca and Middle Rocks. The Court only
provided that South Ledge’s sovereignty should be decided when the
territorial waters in this area are determined. 7
The final settlement of this dispute is still ongoing. Singapore and
Malaysia established a joint technical committee to delimit the maritime
boundary of Pedra Branca and Middle Rocks. In June 2017, Malaysia
applied to the Court for the revision and interpretation on the 2008
Judgement, based on three new pieces of evidence it had acquired in 2016
and 2017. According to Malaysia, the documents decoded by the National
Archives of the United Kingdom in 2013 indicated that the British and
Singaporean administration previously considered Pedra Branca not a part of
Singapore. 8 Singapore officially questioned and protested Malaysia’s
application while the Court responded to this and initiated the public hearing
process soon after. However, Malaysia withdrew this application later
without disclosing any reason, leaving its right to challenge Singapore’s
sovereignty over Pedra Branca abandoned permanently. 9
Strategies Adopted by Singapore
Peaceful contact and negotiation
Singapore persisted in its contact and negotiation strategy for about 20
years before both parties agreed to submit the Pedra Branca dispute to the
Court. By adopting this strategy, Singapore manifested long-term patience
and proactivity in a peaceful manner during this period. During the first
stage of the process of the Pedra Branca dispute, Singapore unilaterally tried
several times to contact Malaysia and requested the exchange of documents
while the latter remained silent. When the second stage began in early 1992,
7
Ibid., 101, paras. 298-299.
See Channel Newsasia, “Malaysia files new application to ICJ on Pedra Branca ruling;
Singapore says it's 'without merit'”, CNA, July 1, 2017,
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/malaysia-files-new-application-to-icj-on-
pedra-branca-ruling-8995044; and “3 UK documents cited for Malaysia's application to revise
Pedra Branca decision”, CNA, Feb. 4, 2017,
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/3-uk-documents-cited-for-malaysia-s-
application-to-revise-pedra--7615510.
9
The Straits Times, “Malaysia withdraws Pedra Branca case; Singapore 'happy to agree', says
Vivian
Balakrishnan”,
The
Straits
Times,
May
30,
2018,
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/malaysia-withdraws-pedra-branca-case-singapore-
happy-to-agree-says-vivian-balakrishnan.
8
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