CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VIII (1) ContemporaryEurasia81 | Page 82

STRATEGIES ON TERRITORIAL ACQUISITION- A CASE STUDY ON THE PEDRA … South Ledge was smart and ambitious, though it eventually failed on the surface. Both Singapore and Malaysia’s claims of these two deserted islets are based on insufficient evidence. Singapore’s claim failed because it could provide no proof of effective control over them. Nevertheless, it could be inferred that Singapore had de facto predicted this possibility when it first questioned Middle Rocks and South Ledge’s sovereignty status, for the reason above. At the beginning of the case, the legal status of these three islets in the era before the establishment of Horsburgh Lighthouse was uncertain. Moreover, the result of Middle Rocks’ judgment was comparatively more difficult to predict compared to Pedra Branca, which was effectively controlled and managed for more than a century. Middle Rocks is too small for human habitation. This islet attracted little attention from any governments in its long history. Singapore’s claim to this islet was only based on the principle of contiguity that all the disputed islets actually belong to the same underwater maritime entity so that they were geologically the same. It was rejected by the Court because geographical contiguity is not a valid reason to claim sovereignty over adjacent territory, as judge Max Huber explained in the Island of Palmas case one century ago. 15 As it can be seen from the proceeding of this case, Malaysia’s winning of sovereignty over Middle Rocks was supported by the previous judgement of Johor having the original title to islands that lie north of the southern bank of Singapore Strait in this region, which was evaluated by the Court from only two indirect and vague pieces of evidence. 16 Based on the analysis above, the motivation of Singapore’s putting forward the dispute of Middle Rocks and South Ledge was aimed at changing the game result and enhance its success rate of winning Pedra Branca. Both claimants faced a zero-sum game when Pedra Branca was the only target to compete for. The game then evolved into a more complicated one with three more results after the dispute of Middle Rocks and South Ledge were crystallized. The four possible results were: 1. All islets belong to Singapore; 2. All islets belong to Malaysia; 3. Pedra Branca to Singapore, Middle Rocks to Malaysia, South Ledge remains unknown; 4. Pedra Branca to Malaysia, Middle Rocks to Singapore, South Ledge remains unknown. 15 Pedra Branca Judgement, 99, para. 289. The first piece of evidence is the 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty, which divided British and Dutch colonies in this region. The second piece of evidence is British reports on Johor’s rule over the people of Orang Laut who mainly inhabited in the region of the east entrance of Singapore Strait (including the disputed islets in the Pedra Branca case). See Memorial of Malaysia, 68-70. 16 82