The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has awarded Pulau Batu Puteh (known as Pedra Branca in Singapore) to Singapore while Middle Rocks to Malaysia.
The UN court in The Hague ruled by 12 votes to four, that PBP sovereignty belonged to the Republic of Singapore, thus bringing an end to the 29-year dispute. [BBC] Both countries have expressed earlier that they would accept and respect the decision regardless of the outcome.
Frankly, I think our legal team should be blamed for the lost with the infamous fake photo incident still ringing in my mind. Although the picture might not be carrying much weight in the case, as there are lots of other facts to be considered for the verdict… but the quality of our legal team made me sweat.
I don’t think Malaysia has lost much from the verdict though, besides some pride perhaps. The judgement probably means that Singapore will have larger territorial sea and thus their navy could travel a bit further into our water; but economically wise, both nations shared the same rights over the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) anyway.
Update – You can read the ICJ report here (pdf).