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Singapore Malaysia Territorial disputes

Singapore Malaysia Territorial disputes. By: Chan Wei (06) Lim Zhong Hui(21) 4S1. Disputes between both countries. List of disputes a) Territorial disputes Land reclamation at Tuas Land reclamation off Pulau Tekong x2 Pedra Branca dispute (not covered ) b) Other disputes (not covered)

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Singapore Malaysia Territorial disputes

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  1. Singapore Malaysia Territorial disputes By: Chan Wei (06) Lim Zhong Hui(21) 4S1

  2. Disputes between both countries List of disputes a) Territorial disputes • Land reclamation at Tuas • Land reclamation off Pulau Tekong x2 • Pedra Branca dispute (not covered) b) Other disputes (not covered) • Bridge dispute • Water dispute

  3. Saga 1 PulauTekong Tuas

  4. Pulau Tekong dispute

  5. PulauTekong Reclamation In 2005, Singapore wanted to reclaim from waters adjacent to Pulau Tekong in the Straits of Johor.

  6. In brief: PulauTekong(2003)

  7. Tuas Reclamation The purpose of this land reclamation was to construct a customs checkpoint for the causeway in the Strait of Johor, between Singapore and Malaysia.

  8. Tuas Reclamation Case of territorial dispute Arose due to Malaysia’s “Point 20 sliver”

  9. Point 20 Sliver – S’pore arguments The Point 20 sliver is incompatible with the Point W25 Border Agreement in 1995 “Point 20” lies at a point that backtracks abruptly north-east of Point W25 Malaysia could not have agreed to Point W25 in 1995 if it had intended to maintain its claim to “Point 20”

  10. Point 20 Sliver – S’pore arguments • Forms an extremely acute triangle of claimed seabed • Impossible to construct any coastal configuration that would generate such an extraordinaryfeature • Suspension of works • Impose heavy burden on Singapore • No benefit whatsoever for Malaysia

  11. Point 20 Sliver – S’pore arguments • Malaysia’s argument lacks the necessary urgency • Point 20 was reclaimed 23 months prior to the complaint • Any urgency should have rose when Singapore first began to implement its published plans to reclaim the Tuas View Extension area • Malaysia’s silence at that time raises questions of acquiescence and estoppel

  12. What next? • At the height of the dispute in July 2003: • Malaysia claimed that the work off Pulau Tekong was damaging Malaysia's beaches, harming its fisheries, and affecting its shipping • Malaysia claimed that the reclamation off Tuas violated its territorial waters

  13. What next? • Both sides appeared before the International Tribunal of the Law of the Seas, which declared on 8th October 2003 that: • Singapore could continue its reclamation works at Pulau Tekong and Tuas. • Malaysian and Singapore governments signed a Settlement Agreement at the Singapore Foreign Affairs Ministry

  14. Conclusions

  15. What both sides have to say Singapore: The civil and civilized manner in which we have been able to settle this dispute gives us confidence that our bilateral disputes can be settled in the same way…We have demonstrated … that where there is an impasse, rather than let our bilateral relations be held hostage to the dispute…we can overcome such disputes on the basis of mutual benefit and mutual respect.” - Then Singapore’s Foreign Minister George Yeo

  16. What both sides have to say Malaysia: "I consider this as a milestone in Malaysia-Singapore relations. ..Despite our initial differences …now we have found that there is nothing impossible if we put our hearts and minds together to find a resolution.” - Then Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar 

  17. Peacefully resolved!

  18. HOWEVER… SAGA 2 came along...

  19. In brief: Saga 2 (2007) In January 2007, Malaysia blamed Singapore’s land reclamation at Pulau Tekong for the flooding in Southern Johor that left 17 people dead. This caused a war of words between both countries for days as temperatures on both sides flared.

  20. Severity of the flood • 17 people died • Around 100,000 evacuated • Floodwaters more than 4m high • 1.5 billion ringgit to repair roads and schools and reimburse victims • Losses to agricultural sector totaling more than 140 million • Residents called it the worst flood in memory

  21. Malaysia’s side • View of extremists: • The reclamation on Pulau Tekong prevented water from running smoothly to sea in case of heavy rain. • In short, Singapore was at fault for the flood in Malaysia. • View of moderates: • Felt that it was too early to jump to conclusions and that more studies needed to be conducted. Other factors such as extremely high rainfall and tides had to be considered. • However, they felt that any reclamation project at river estuaries would definitely have an effect upstream • In short, Singapore’s reclamation coupled with other factors caused the flood in Malaysia.

  22. A newspaper article: Some quotes from the China Post: “A Malaysian official has blamed massive land reclamation by Singapore near the Malaysian mainland for the recent flooding” “The reclamation …caused the ...flooding” quoting Johor Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman  “The reclamation led to the narrowing of the mouth of the Johor river, slowing the discharge of excess rain water into the Johor Straits, Othman said. This led to the river bursting its banks in Kota Tinggi,”

  23. Singapore’s side Singapore defended itself from Malaysia’s accusations , saying that all these comments were unfounded He added that this was confirmed by technical studies that were conducted BOTH by Malaysia and Singapore

  24. Another newspaper article • Some quotes by Today online • Singapore has rebutted the claim and even Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has distanced himself from his colleague's statement. "There are all sorts of allegations but we can't reach any conclusion unless a thorough technical study is done on the cause of floods in Johor," he said. "The actual cause of the floods is exceptionally heavy rainfall.” • Meanwhile Singapore's Ministry of National Development (MND) said in response to media queries: "The comments are unfounded. This is confirmed by the results from the technical studies that were commissioned separately by both the Malaysian government and the Singapore government." 

  25. What did the studies say?

  26. Surveys

  27. Conclusion of the saga

  28. Peacefully resolved!

  29. Bibliography • http://img6.travelblog.org/Photos/57634/253939/t/2063120-Land-Reclamation-0.jpg • http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070102/070125-4.htm • http://sgfo.sgforums.com/forums/1710/topics/129031 • http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EG31Ae01.html • http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-13264344.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia–Singapore_border#Singaporean_land_reclamation_case

  30. Bibliography http://prevos.net/resume/tuas.htm http://www.mfa.gov.sg/reclamation/img6.html http://www.itlos.org/case_documents/2003/document_en_224.pdf

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