S'pore and Malaysia dispute deepens

S'pore and Malaysia dispute deepens

MALAYSIA: Singapore had no right to order Malaysia to stay away from a strategic island at the center of a territorial dispute, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Sunday.

A war of words between the two neighbors has intensified since last month over long-standing disputes about water prices and competing claims for the islet of Pulau Batu Putih in the busy shipping lanes of the Singapore Straits.

Singapore's Foreign Minister Shanmugan Jayakumar told an emergency session of Parliament on Saturday that the city-state must defuse tensions with Malaysia before they escalate to dangerous levels.

Earlier in the week, Singaporean Defense Minister Tony Tan warned that Malaysian navy patrols must stay away from the disputed islet, also called Pedra Branca, or risk "unintended incidents."

The two nations are scheduled to sign an agreement next month referring the dispute over the islet to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. --AP