Malaysia’s Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report on Pedra Branca and Its Impact on ICJ’s decision on Bilateral Dispute

Mr Neil Parekh Nimil Rajnikant asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs in view of the Malaysian Parliament's debate on the Royal Commission of Inquiry report on the affairs of Pedra Branca (a) whether its deliberations on the report will have any impact on the International Court of Justice's decision on the bilateral dispute between Singapore and Malaysia on Pedra Branca; (b) what is the current state of bilateral matters surrounding Pedra Branca; and (c) whether there are any outstanding issues which the Ministry has to resolve with its Malaysian counterparts.

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge is an internal matter of Malaysia and should not affect the good bilateral relations between Singapore and Malaysia. On 23 May 2008, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded sovereignty over Pedra Branca to Singapore in the case concerning sovereignty over Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. Both Singapore and Malaysia have announced that we will accept and abide by the ICJ's decision, which is final and binding on both countries. Under the ICJ Statute, an application for revision cannot be made after the expiry of 10 years from the date of the ICJ's 2008 judgment, that is, May 2018.

Following the ICJ judgment, our two countries established the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Technical Committee on the Implementation of the ICJ Judgment on Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (MSJTC) to resolve outstanding bilateral matters concerning that area, including maritime boundary delimitation. MSJTC continues to be an important platform for our two countries to meet and discuss these outstanding matters in a constructive manner.

During Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's recent visit to Malaysia for the 11th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat, our Leaders reviewed and discussed a wide range of bilateral issues, including maritime boundary delimitation. The two Prime Ministers have agreed to continue discussions on outstanding issues constructively.