THE International Court of Justice (ICJ) will likely issue its ruling on the dispute over Pedra Branca by the end of next month, Foreign Minister George Yeo said yesterday.
He was speaking to reporters after hosting a lunch for his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, who was in Singapore on a one-day introductory visit.
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING: Mr Yeo (right) and Datuk Seri Rais speaking to the media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Yeo said they had agreed that whatever the decision on Pedra Branca, both sides will accept it. -- ST PHOTO: FRANCIS ONG'We also talked about Pedra Branca because it is likely that a judgment will be made in May; maybe mid-May or end of May,' Mr Yeo told reporters after the lunch.
Both Malaysia and Singapore have staked a claim to Pedra Branca, which the Malaysians call Pulau Batu Puteh, an island the size of a football field about 40km east of Singapore and home to Horsburgh Lighthouse.
Both sides agreed in 2003 to refer the dispute to the ICJ and made their representations before the United Nations body late last year.
Mr Yeo said: 'Both of us had agreed that if Malaysia were to win, then we will congratulate Malaysia. Foreign Minister Rais Yatim told me if Singapore were to win, he will congratulate Singapore and that whatever the decision, we will accept it and it will not affect bilateral relations.
'The lighthouse will continue to provide a valuable facility to all navigators so nothing should change, and this is the common position that we take and that we are proudly happy to declare to all Malaysians and Singaporeans.'
The two ministers also discussed forging closer bilateral relations and Asean integration during the lunch at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr Yeo said Datuk Seri Rais had brought up the issue of linking up the urban railways of Singapore and Johor when he met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earlier in the day.
'Prime Minister Lee responded positively to this idea of linking up the two urban rails,' said Mr Yeo.
'So this is for the Joint Ministerial Committee to take up, and the link should not be a difficult one and it will bring immediate advantages to both sides.'
The joint committee, which is looking into Johor's Iskandar Malaysia development region, was set up after PM Lee and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi had a retreat in Langkawi last year.
On Wednesday, the Iskandar-Malaysia Authority set up an office in Singapore, and Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman expressed hopes for an urban rail link.
In response to a question, the Malaysian Foreign Minister said he wanted relations with Singapore to be better than the status quo.
He said: 'It should be one grade up and we will do this as a fervour, as a push.'
Mr Yeo chipped in: 'I second that.'
Datuk Seri Rais replied: 'Thank you so much.'
Responding to another question, Datuk Seri Rais said, in Malay: 'If the relationship between Malaysia and Singapore is not at the highest level of harmony, then we cannot regard ourselves to be in one true Asean community.'
He added that Malaysia viewed Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand as very important countries.
'Harmony is the key word, trusting each other, and what is committed through the rule of law, through international arrangement, we must respect. If we do not do that, then being neighbourly is not substantive enough,' he said.
Datuk Seri Rais also met Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, and Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar.
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