Malaysia to protest S'pore's construction on disputed island

Malaysia to protest S'pore's construction on disputed island

Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia is again protesting the defiant actions of neighboring
Singapore, which continues unabated construction on a tiny
disputed island, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said on
Monday.

In an interview with the Malay-language Utusan Malaysia, Syed
Hamid said Kuala Lumpur considers it disrespectful that Singapore
was proceeding with building on Batu Puteh island off its
southern Johor state.

Singapore is acting as if it already owns the island, Syed
Hamid is quoted as saying, a position Malaysia deeply disagrees
with and for which it has already lodged a protest.

The dispute over the island is on its way to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

Singapore's claim to the rocky island is partially based on
the lighthouse it has maintained there since 1851. Malaysia in
response says it has had sovereignty over the island since the
early 16th century.

Syed Hamid said as the two sides had agreed to file the case
to the ICJ, Singapore should have postponed its construction of a
two-story building and a helicopter landing strip.

Singapore has also placed a permanent marine patrol unit in
the area and installed a radar tower to monitor ships, the
newspaper reported.

The territorial dispute began when Singapore first laid claim
to the island in 1980, 25 years after declaring independence from
Malaysia after it was booted from the Malaysian Federation. It
earned its independence in 1965.

Last Thursday, Syed Hamid said a draft special agreement had
been prepared to bring the dispute to the ICJ. The fate of that
agreement was unclear on Monday.

Malaysia last week celebrated its win in a territorial dispute
with Indonesia over the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan and
announced it had set its sights on other offshore claims,
including Batu Puteh.

The ICJ ruling for Malaysia ended a three-decade wrangle
between Malaysia and Indonesia.