S'pore, KL work to end water rift

S'pore, KL work to end water rift

HANOI (AP): Malaysia and Singapore said on Thursday they had agreed to link an extension of their water-supply deal with other issues.

Singapore, an island state, relies on Malaysia for water. The 100-year deal does not expire until 2061, but there already have been preliminary discussions on whether and how to extend it.

Relations between the neighbors have been strained by differences over the location of a border post in Singapore and the cancellation of automatic flyover rights for Singaporean military aircraft in Malaysian airspace.

Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said his Malaysian counterpart, Mahathir Mohamad, made the linkage suggestion during a meeting Thursday morning after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.

There has been speculation that Malaysia would only renew the deal if Singapore helped raise funds to finance Kuala Lumpur's economic recovery efforts.