S'pore, Malaysia agree in principle to end land reclamation
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SINGAPORE : Singapore and Malaysia have accepted the recommendations of a group of experts who were tasked to study Singapore's reclamation activities off Tuas and Pulau Tekong.
The issue had prompted Malaysia to ask for a stop work order at the International Tribunal on the Law of the Seas (ITLOS) in July 2003.
But now, both governments have agreed to use the recommendations as the basis to come to a mutually acceptable and beneficial solution.
At the height of the dispute in 2003, Malaysia claimed that the reclamation off Tuas violated its territorial waters.
It also alleged that the work off Pulau Tekong was damaging Malaysia's beaches and harming its fisheries.
Malaysia asked for a stop work order and for the matter to go before arbitration.
When both sides appeared before the International Tribunal of the Law of the Seas, the tribunal declared on 8 October 2003 that Singapore could continue its reclamation works at Tuas and Pulau Tekong.
But the tribunal proposed that both countries set up a group of experts to study the impact of the reclamation, and called for a report within a year.
The two governments received the final report from the experts last November .
Their negotiating teams had two meetings, one in December in Singapore and the second earlier this month at the Hague, where both countries said very good progress was made, resulting in an agreement.
The two delegations also appeared before the tribunal at the Hague on January 10 to brief the judges on the progress of their consultations.
There are still two more steps that have to be cleared before the tribunal set up to hear the land reclamation matter is disbanded.
These are submitting the draft settlement agreement to the respective governments for approval and finally putting the all important signatures on the agreement.
Political observers say the good atmosphere prevailing between the Malaysian and Singapore governments had a beneficial impact on the way the negotiations have proceeded, resulting in a fair and balanced outcome.
Both sides hope to sign the agreement within the next few weeks.
The joint statement also says that the two governments agree that the waters in the straits of Johor constitute a shared water body and there is a common interest to cooperate to ensure the safety of navigation in the straits.
Both sides also have a common interest to protect the environment like monitoring the water quality and addressing any adverse impacts if necessary.
All this will be done through existing mechanisms among them, the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment.
The joint statement adds that the positive outcome of the meeting between the two delegations reflects the goodwill and cooperation which exists between the two sides and their governments.
This augurs well for the further strengthening of good relations between the two close and friendly neighbours. - CNA