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Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim (left) and Balaji Sadasivan.

• ‘Talk to us first on Batu Puteh’

©New Straits Times (Used by permission)
From Sajahan Abdul Waheed in Singapore

• 'We will bring back historical documents'

SINGAPORE wants to claim a territorial sea and an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around Pedra Branca -- going back on its word to discuss with Malaysia territorial issues and activities around the rocky outcrop.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim did not hide his disappointment with the announcement by Singapore's Senior Minister of State Balaji Sadasivan that the republic had a territorial sea limit that extended up to a maximum of 12 nautical miles and an EEZ, claiming that this was consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which Singapore was a party.

Rais said: "Malaysia will have to study if the matter is intimi-dating.

"This thing is new to us. We have a joint technical committee with Singapore and this matter should have been discussed first.

"It should not be done unilaterally. It should take into account the spirit of Asean solidarity and understanding.

"It is not a simple matter as it involves the Law of the Sea and specific issues and we need expert views on this," Rais, who is attending the 41st Asean Ministerial Meeting here, said in an immediate response to Malaysian media.

Pedra Branca was awarded to the republic by the International Court of Justice in May. However, the court awarded Middle Rocks to Malaysia, with ownership of the third marine feature in the area -- South Ledge -- to be decided based on the territorial waters of which it is located.

Following the court's decision, a joint committee was set up to carry out consultations on activities in the locality of the three marine features. The committee is jointly headed by Malaysia's Foreign Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Rastam Mohamed Isa and his Singaporean counterpart.

It is believed that the committee will also have to agree on whether the three features are merely rocks or islands. This is because an island, defined as being able to support habitation and sustain economic life, can claim its own territorial seas and EEZ, whereas other marine features can only claim territorial sea.

Sadasivan, when replying to questions in Parliament, said that the precise coordinates of Singapore's territorial sea and EEZ would be announced at an appropriate time.

Sadasivan said should the limit of its territorial sea or EEZ overlap with the claims of neighbouring countries, Singapore would negotiate with those countries with a view to arriving at an agreed delimitation.

Malaysia had asserted that it would continue to look for further evidence on the Pedra Branca case with a view to seeking a revision of the judgment of the ICJ.

In reference to this, Balaji said under ICJ's statute, a party could apply for a review of a judgment if "it is based upon the discovery of some fact of such a nature as to be a decisive factor, which fact was, when the judgment was given, unknown to the court and also to the party claiming revision, always provided that such ignorance was not due to negligence".

'We will bring back historical documents'

KUALA LUMPUR: Efforts to bring back historical records from overseas are ongoing, Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said yesterday.

"The ministry has been retrieving these documents but this is an international issue," he said after opening the 16th International Council on Archives (ICA) Congress here.

It is understood that most of the documents are in Britain and Spain and were taken out of the country prior to Malaysia achieving independence.

Shafie said the documents would help prevent future losses of territory due to a lack of records.

"The recent case involving Batu Puteh (Pedra Branca) was a lesson to all, even though documentation was not the sole factor that caused the island to slip from our hands," he said.

He said the congress would provide professional networking among archivists and experts to make it easier for Malaysia to bring back long-lost documents.

"Previously, we also sought co-operation from international bodies like the United Kingdom Department of Archives, as in the case of Sipadan and Ligitan."

In 2002, the International Court of Justice ruled that the islands off the coast of Sabah belonged to Malaysia.

The congress, which is held for the first time in Southeast Asia, has drawn 1,200 archivists and professionals from 138 countries to discuss the challenges confronting the profession and to set a trend for the new millennium.

Held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, the congress is also attended by ICA president Lorenz Mikoletzky. It ends on Saturday.

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