Friday, May 23, 2008

Pedra Branca

Pedra Branca is a small little island located at the eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait. It was claimed by both Singapore and Malaysia, and today, the International Court of Justice has ruled that the small island belongs to Singapore, while the rocks nearby, known as Middle Rocks, belongs to Malaysia. While the ICJ may think that this is fair (since Singapore's claim to this group of rocks stems from the operating of Horsburgh Lighthouse on Pedra Branca, while Malaysia claims it through historical presence), this ruling is going to cause some real problems, since Middle Rocks and Pedra Branca are so close together, that trying to split them between two countries will probably cause more problems than solve them. Let's see how the two countries solve the problem of territorial waters now...

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