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All Singaporeans Salute to them...
Prof S Jayakumar, Tommy Koh document Pedra Branca case in a book
By S.Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 19 December 2008 1805 hrs
SINGAPORE: Two law professors with an interest in public international law have documented Singapore's case on Pedra Branca into a book for the layman to understand.
The idea for the book - "Pedra Branca, The Road to the World Court" - was conceived by Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar and Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh during the public hearings at the International Court of Justice at The Hague in November last year.
The authors were kept busy by autograph hunters at the book launch on Friday. The launch was officiated by Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, who was part of the Singapore team at the hearings.
He said Pedra Branca is unique to Singapore as it is unlikely the Republic will ever need to again seek confirmation of the territory under international law.
Chief Justice Chan said: "I am sure that the authors, like the rest of the Singapore team would have very much liked to title the book to be 'Pedra Branca - Three Came Home'.
"Alas that is not to be. One is lost, another is in limbo. But all the same, we must count our blessings that it is the one, the one that counted, that came home."
The book traces the origins of the Pedra Branca dispute, how Britain, and later Singapore, acquired sovereignty over the island and subsequently maintained and operated the Horsburgh Lighthouse on it since 1851.
It also documents how the dispute arose after Malaysia made its claim over Pedra Branca in 1979 and how the Republic managed the dispute over three decades before its final resolution on 23 May 2008 at the International Court of Justice.
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has written a foreword for the 195-page book.
In it, he said Singapore's Prime Minister must try to establish good, stable and equitable relations with the Malaysian government.
Mr Lee said what is important is how both sides can manage and amicably resolve issues that must crop up from time to time because of widespread interactions without souring the long-term overall bilateral relationship.
He said that the Pedra Branca issue was a story worth telling. He added that the court's judgement - awarding sovereignty over Pedra Branca to Singapore and sovereignty over Middle Rocks to Malaysia - was a partial vindication of Singapore's position.
Mr Lee said naturally, Singapore was disappointed, because the Republic's team believed, as did its foreign counsel, that any court would decide that sovereignty over all three features - Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge - went together.
But he wrote in his foreward that whichever way the judgement went, it was better for bilateral relations that a conclusive judgement had been made as this would allow both countries to put aside the issue and move on to other areas of co-operation.
The minister mentor stressed that Singapore must remain committed to upholding the rule of law in the relations between states. If a dispute cannot be resolved by negotiations, it was better to refer it to a third party dispute settlement mechanism than to allow it to fester and sour bilateral relations.
Mr Lee said this was his approach and subsequent Singapore prime ministers have continued to subscribe to it.
Also speaking at the launch was Professor Tommy Koh, co-author of the book. He said both Singapore and Malaysia have managed the dispute in a responsible manner.
He added: "When there was a danger that the escalation of confrontation between the two navies and marine police around Pedra Branca could lead to armed conflict, Singapore brought this to the attention of the Malaysian prime minister.
"And when the Youth Wing of the Malaysian Islamic Party or PAS threatened to invade Pedra Branca to plant a Malaysian flag, Dr Mahathir Mohamad stopped them and warned that it could lead to war."
The authors of the book, hoping it will reach as many people as possible, have kept the language in the book simple, avoiding legal jargon.
There are also some interesting snippets in the book which the public do not know about.
Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar said: "In 1989, Dr Mahathir made a quiet boat ride to the Pedra Branca vicinity to size up for himself the potentially tense situation on the ground.
"Our team's preparations included rehearsals of speeches. CJ and I even tried our speeches in the Supreme Court before two Court of Appeal Judges."
2,000 copies of the book are now on sale. - CNA/vm
All Singaporeans Salute to them...
Prof S Jayakumar, Tommy Koh document Pedra Branca case in a book
By S.Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 19 December 2008 1805 hrs
SINGAPORE: Two law professors with an interest in public international law have documented Singapore's case on Pedra Branca into a book for the layman to understand.
The idea for the book - "Pedra Branca, The Road to the World Court" - was conceived by Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar and Ambassador-at-Large Tommy Koh during the public hearings at the International Court of Justice at The Hague in November last year.
The authors were kept busy by autograph hunters at the book launch on Friday. The launch was officiated by Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, who was part of the Singapore team at the hearings.
He said Pedra Branca is unique to Singapore as it is unlikely the Republic will ever need to again seek confirmation of the territory under international law.
Chief Justice Chan said: "I am sure that the authors, like the rest of the Singapore team would have very much liked to title the book to be 'Pedra Branca - Three Came Home'.
"Alas that is not to be. One is lost, another is in limbo. But all the same, we must count our blessings that it is the one, the one that counted, that came home."
The book traces the origins of the Pedra Branca dispute, how Britain, and later Singapore, acquired sovereignty over the island and subsequently maintained and operated the Horsburgh Lighthouse on it since 1851.
It also documents how the dispute arose after Malaysia made its claim over Pedra Branca in 1979 and how the Republic managed the dispute over three decades before its final resolution on 23 May 2008 at the International Court of Justice.
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has written a foreword for the 195-page book.
In it, he said Singapore's Prime Minister must try to establish good, stable and equitable relations with the Malaysian government.
Mr Lee said what is important is how both sides can manage and amicably resolve issues that must crop up from time to time because of widespread interactions without souring the long-term overall bilateral relationship.
He said that the Pedra Branca issue was a story worth telling. He added that the court's judgement - awarding sovereignty over Pedra Branca to Singapore and sovereignty over Middle Rocks to Malaysia - was a partial vindication of Singapore's position.
Mr Lee said naturally, Singapore was disappointed, because the Republic's team believed, as did its foreign counsel, that any court would decide that sovereignty over all three features - Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge - went together.
But he wrote in his foreward that whichever way the judgement went, it was better for bilateral relations that a conclusive judgement had been made as this would allow both countries to put aside the issue and move on to other areas of co-operation.
The minister mentor stressed that Singapore must remain committed to upholding the rule of law in the relations between states. If a dispute cannot be resolved by negotiations, it was better to refer it to a third party dispute settlement mechanism than to allow it to fester and sour bilateral relations.
Mr Lee said this was his approach and subsequent Singapore prime ministers have continued to subscribe to it.
Also speaking at the launch was Professor Tommy Koh, co-author of the book. He said both Singapore and Malaysia have managed the dispute in a responsible manner.
He added: "When there was a danger that the escalation of confrontation between the two navies and marine police around Pedra Branca could lead to armed conflict, Singapore brought this to the attention of the Malaysian prime minister.
"And when the Youth Wing of the Malaysian Islamic Party or PAS threatened to invade Pedra Branca to plant a Malaysian flag, Dr Mahathir Mohamad stopped them and warned that it could lead to war."
The authors of the book, hoping it will reach as many people as possible, have kept the language in the book simple, avoiding legal jargon.
There are also some interesting snippets in the book which the public do not know about.
Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar said: "In 1989, Dr Mahathir made a quiet boat ride to the Pedra Branca vicinity to size up for himself the potentially tense situation on the ground.
"Our team's preparations included rehearsals of speeches. CJ and I even tried our speeches in the Supreme Court before two Court of Appeal Judges."
2,000 copies of the book are now on sale. - CNA/vm
