THE HAGUE, Netherlands: The court hearing on a disputed island in the Straits of Singapore resumed on Tuesday with the Malaysian team presenting its evidence.
Pedra (Picture)BrancaAt stake is the island that Singapore calls Pedra Branca and which Malaysia refers to as Pulau Batu Puteh.
Malaysia started Day One of its four-day presentation by accusing Singapore of "disrupting the long established arrangements" in the Straits.
Malaysia told the the International Court of Justice that Singapore's reclamation plans for the island back in the 1970s could also potentially lead to serious changes to the security arrangements in the eastern entrance to the Strait of Singapore.
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Malaysia begins oral presentation on disputed island
This is the second week of the hearing over the sovereignty of Pedra Branca and its two outcrops of Middle Rocks and South Ledge between Singapore and Malaysia.
Starting the session on a friendly note, Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar exchanged a handshake with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar before the hearing began.
Mr Syed Hamid arrived in time to lend support to Malaysia's opening statements, arguing that the disputed island belongs to Malaysia.
Its Ambassador-at-Large and Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister, Abdul Kadir Mohamad, was the first to present.
He said Singapore, through its actions, wants to radically change the basis on how it acquired the Horsburgh Lighthouse on the island, as well as the character of Singapore's presence on the island.
Mr Abdul Kadir said: "Singapore is endeavouring to create for itself a maritime domain which is a far cry from the basis of its presence on Pulau Batu Puteh as lighthouse administrator.
"Singapore's presence on Pulau Batu Puteh, as lighthouse operator, never extended to issues concerning the territorial waters or the continental shaft around Pulau Batu Puteh."
He questioned Singapore's intention of what it wants to do on Pulau Batu Puteh.
Singapore had, in the 1970s, considered reclamation plans for Pedra Branca.
That point got Mr Abdul Kadir asking why Singapore needed a bigger island.
He said "In fact, the aggressive methods Singapore has used to assert its claims to Pulau Batu Puteh have already led to regrettable, although not irreversible, changes to the stable conditions in the area."
But Singapore argued that it is precisely because it acknowledges that Pedra Branca belongs to her, that it is rightfully carrying out activities and plans in a sovereign manner.
Another four of Malaysia's team members also spoke on the first day of its oral arguments.
Their main points - that Malaysia always had ownership of the disputed island and its outcrops, and that events after 1851 should be considered irrelevant to this case.
Singapore had argued that between 1847 and 1851, the British had executed a series of official actions on Pedra Branca, thereby exercising sovereignty over the island.
Ms Noor Farida Ariffin, Malaysia's Ambassador to the Netherlands, said: "Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge are among the many maritime features that have always formed part of Johor.
"You have also seen that Pulau Batu Puteh and its surrounding waters, far from being unknown and unused, have always been used by local Malay peoples as subjects of the Sultanate of Johor and residents of the state of Johor. None of political or territorial developments after 1824 altered this."
But Singapore said that the island was never on Malaysia's maps until 1979 when they published a new one and included Pedra Branca as one of its territories, for the very first time.
Singapore also argued that even as late as 1975, Malaysia had published a map attributing Pedra Branca to Singapore.
But Malaysia's Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said Singapore, till today, has never been able to produce legal evidence in the form of documents to show ownership of the disputed island.
He added that Singapore only lodged a formal protest with Malaysia over the ownership of the island on February 14, 1980. So whatever Singapore did after that, Mr Abdul Gani said, was "not a normal continuation of its prior acts of administration of the lighthouse. In that regard, such conduct, after the critical date, must be disregarded."
Malaysia also cited an example of how the British fired a 21-gun salute on Singapore-owned islands like Pulau Ubin to formalise its claim.
But Malaysia questioned why Singapore did not do the same for Pulau Batu Puteh.
Singapore had previously argued that the British did not think it was necessary to do so because it had confirmed its title of Pedra Branca through a range of activities on the island.
Malaysia will continue with its presentation on Wednesday. - CNA/ir/de
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