copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-02-04): Both Malaysia and Singapore claimed Pedra Branca as their own. The dispute started arose in 1979 when Malaysia published a map claiming the island as hers. [...] Singapore, on the other hand, claimed that Pedra Branca was no man's land when the British took over it. The British, and subsequently Singapore, maintained a continuous and effective display of state authority over the island from the 1850s - such as building piers, military assets, investigating shipwrecks within Pedra Branca’s territorial waters and granting/not granting permission to Malaysian officials to survey the waters surrounding the island. Singapore also produced a 1953 letter from a top Malaysian civil servant indicating that "Johore does not claim ownership of Pedra Branca". The matter was finally brought up to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2003. In 2008, the ICJ rule that Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore. Case closed.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-27): The Pedra Branca dispute was a territorial dispute between Singapore and Malaysia over several islets at the eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait, namely Pedra Branca (previously called Pulau Batu Puteh and now Batu Puteh by Malaysia), Middle Rocks and South Ledge. The dispute began in 1979 and was largely resolved by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2008, which opined that Pedra Branca belonged to Singapore and Middle Rocks belonged to Malaysia. Sovereignty over South Ledge belongs to the state in the territorial waters of which it is located. [...] - Lim, Lydia (24 May 2008), "Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore: World court ends 28-year dispute, declaring main island is Singapore's; Malaysia gets Middle Rocks" (PDF), The Straits Times (reproduced on the National University of Singapore Newshub website), pp. 1–2, archived from the original on 29 June 2019, retrieved 5 October 2008.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-10-14): SINGAPORE: Singapore stands ready to "robustly defend" its sovereignty over Pedra Branca, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson said on Friday (Oct 14). [...] Pedra Branca is located near the eastern entrance of the Straits of Singapore, about 44km east of mainland Singapore. [...] The matter was brought to the ICJ in 2003, and on May 23, 2008, it ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over Pedra Branca, while Middle Rocks was awarded to Malaysia and South Ledge belonged to the state in whose territorial waters it is located.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-02-10): Pedra Branca, also known as Pulau Batu Puteh and Batu Puteh, is a small island at the western edge of the South China Sea. It in the eastern entrance of the Straits of Singapore.[1] It is the easternmost point of Singapore. [...] The island was the subject of a dispute between Malaysia and Singapore. In 2008, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Pedra Branca is part of Singapore.[1] On 2 February 2017, Malaysia applied to the ICJ pursuant to Article 61 of the Statute of the ICJ for the revision of the 2008 judgment[2] on the basis of three documents it had obtained from The National Archives of the UK between August 2016 and January 2017. The documents were internal correspondence of Singapore's colonial government in 1958, an incident report submitted by a British naval officer in the same year, and a 1960s map of naval operations bearing annotations. The Malaysian Government said that these documents indicated that "officials at the highest levels in the British colonial and Singaporean administration appreciated that Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh did not form part of Singapore’s sovereign territory" during the relevant period.[3]
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-02-22): Pedra Branca off Singapore: A Historical Cartographic Analysis of a Post-Colonial Territorially Disputed Island [...] - Jappalang, Pedra Branca Map. 2008, A Map Showing the Approximate Location of the Island of Pedra Branca, Which Is under the Sovereignty of Singapore, at the Eastern End of the Singapore Strait Where It Meets the South China Sea. Near It Are the Maritime Features Middle Rocks (under Malaysian Sovereignty) and South Ledge, and the Coasts of Johor, Malaysia, and Bintan, Indonesia. Available online: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pedra_Branca_Map.svg (accessed on 5 December 2021). [...] Ong BMQ, Perono Cacciafoco F. Pedra Branca off Singapore: A Historical Cartographic Analysis of a Post-Colonial Territorially Disputed Island. Histories. 2022; 2(1):47-67. https://doi.org/10.3390/histories2010005
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-20): Pedra Branca is an island located at the eastern entrance of the Straits of Singapore, about 24 nautical miles east of Singapore. The British colonial government took possession of the island over 160 years ago to build Horsburgh Lighthouse and other structures on it. Since then, Singapore has exercised continuous sovereignty over the entire island and its adjacent waters. [...] Singapore contended that Pedra Branca was terra nullius, prior to the British Crown’s possession of the island in the mid-1800s. Singapore’s title to Pedra Branca was based upon the British authorities in Singapore having taken lawful possession of the island for the construction of Horsburgh Lighthouse, and Singapore - the lawful successor to the British Crown - having continuously and openly exercised sovereignty over the entire island and its surrounding waters thereafter. Furthermore, in 1953, Johor stated in official correspondence with Singapore that it did not claim ownership over the island. Malaysia also published a series of official maps from 1962 to 1975 depicting Pedra Branca as belonging to Singapore. [...] On 23 May 2008, the ICJ issued its judgment, in which it decided that sovereignty over Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore, sovereignty over Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia, and sovereignty over South Ledge belongs to the State in the territorial waters of which it is located.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2003-07-24): Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malaysia/Singapore) [...] Following public hearings which were held in November 2007, the Court rendered its Judgment on 23 May 2008. In that Judgment, the Court first indicated that the Sultanate of Johor (predecessor of Malaysia) had original title to Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, a granite island on which Horsburgh lighthouse stands. It concluded, however, that, when the dispute crystallized (1980), title had passed to Singapore, as attested to by the conduct of the Parties (in particular certain acts performed by Singapore à titre de souverain and the failure of Malaysia to react to the conduct of Singapore). The Court consequently awarded sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore. As for Middle Rocks, a maritime feature consisting of several rocks permanently above water, the Court observed that the particular circumstances which had led it to find that sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh rested with Singapore clearly did not apply to Middle Rocks. It therefore found that Malaysia, as the successor to the Sultan of Johor, should be considered to have retained original title to Middle Rocks.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-07-07): Pedra Branca may seem insignificant, but it could be key to stirring up nationalist fervour ahead of an election and realising a sultan’s long-held ambition [...] But political observers say Kuala Lumpur’s latest bid to win control of the isle of Pedra Branca puts on full display how even the most benign contests over territory are underpinned by complex domestic factors. [...] Malaysia on February 3 informed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it had uncovered three British archive documents that it believed would overturn the top UN court’s decision in 2008 that the isle belongs to Singapore.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-30): The dispute over Pedra Branca dates back to 1979, when Malaysia published a map indicating that the island was within the country's territorial waters. Pedra Branca is located near the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait, about 44km east of mainland Singapore. In 2008, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore while Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia. It also ruled that South Ledge belongs to the state in the territorial waters of which it is located. [...] Singapore has said that it stands ready to "robustly defend" its sovereignty over Pedra Branca.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-07-06): SINGAPORE - Works at Pedra Branca to improve existing facilities, provide berthing for vessels and additional logistics, administrative support and communications facilities on the island are expected to start by the end of this year. [...] Land reclamation works will be carried out within 0.5 nautical miles of Pedra Branca and in Singapore territorial waters off the island. One nautical mile is about 1.85km. [...] In 2008, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded sovereignty over Pedra Branca to Singapore.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-07-05): SINGAPORE — Singapore will start reclaiming land around Pedra Branca by the end of this year, as part of planned development work that was postponed because of an earlier legal tussle with Malaysia over the island’s sovereignty. [...] Pedra Branca sits near the entrance to the Singapore Strait about 44km to the east of the country. [...] In 2008, the court ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over Pedra Branca.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2008-10-09): Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malaysia/Singapore) [...] References 1 This awkward toponym combines Singapore’s name for the disputed island—Pedra Branca, or "White Rock" in Portuguese—with Malaysia’s name for the same feature—Pulau Batu Puteh, or "White Rock Island" in Malay. [...] 7 The 1927 Straits Settlement and Johor Territorial Waters Agreement—the 1927 Agreement—modified the Crawfurd Treaty by providing for the retrocession from Singapore to Johor of many of the islands first ceded in the Crawfurd Treaty. The Court concluded that Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh was not within the geographic scope of either the Crawfurd Treaty or the 1927 Agreement (para. 188).
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-03-15): Thankfully, there is a potential solution to this zero-sum game, and it is one that has already proved successful in Southeast Asia: the patient presentation of verifiable evidence to a neutral tribunal. Indonesia and Malaysia resolved their dispute over the islands of Ligitan and Sipadan through the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2002. More relevant to the South China Sea dispute was the ICJ’s resolution of the dispute between Malaysia and Singapore over three sets of uninhabited rocks in the Singapore Straits in 2008.[5] The ICJ was able to rule that Pedra Branca belonged to Singapore while Middle Rocks belonged to Malaysia even though the two are just a kilometre apart. It ruled in favour of Singapore over Pedra Branca mainly because Singapore had carried out acts of physical administration there, notably by building a lighthouse on the rock. The judges also specified a different fate for a third feature, South Ledge, because it is underwater at high tide and therefore not ‘territory’ as such. It ruled that sovereignty could only be settled later, once the two countries had agreed on a boundary between their territorial seas. [...] [5] International Court of Justice, Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malaysia/Singapore) Summary of the Judgment of 23 May 2008 https://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/130/summaries.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-07-20): In 2008, the ICJ ruled that Singapore had sovereignty over Pedra Branca. While the Sultanate of Johor had original title to Pedra Branca, sovereignty over the island had passed to Singapore by 1980, when the dispute crystallized. The ICJ’s ruling was made on the basis of the fact that Singapore and its predecessor polities had exercised several acts of sovereignty over the island, to which Malaysia and its predecessors had failed to respond. In the same ruling, ICJ also awarded Middle Rocks to Malaysia and ruled that South Ledge belonged to the state in whose territorial waters it is located, a question that is to be determined through a process of negotiation between Singapore and Malaysia. [...] Now that it is legally settled that Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore, there is no dispute that Singapore has the right to reclaim land adjacent to its island in accordance with domestic and international law. If the seven hectares of reclaimed land eventually form an artificial island, this would be in alignment with Article 60 of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which grants nations the right to build and construct new artificial islands in their Exclusive Economic Zones.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-01): Fromageau, Edouard. / The International Court of Justice and Territorial Disputes: Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. Global Administrative Law: The Casebook. editor / Sabino Cassese. Vol. 5 3. ed. 2012. pp. 23-27 @inbook{c0e3f89224034a3092cd2a5d44def14e, title = "The International Court of Justice and Territorial Disputes: Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge", abstract = "The dispute between Malaysia and Singapore over Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge – three maritime features located at the eastern entrance of the Straits of Singapore – began in December 1979 when Malaysia published a map depicting Pedra Branca as lying within its territorial waters. A few months later, Singapore sent a diplomatic note rejecting Malaysia{\textquoteright}s claim to Pedra Branca and requesting a correction of the map. Attempts to settle the dispute by bilateral negotiations were made from 1993 to 1994. The question of sovereignty over Middle Rocks and South Ledge was raised during these negotiations. Faced with a lack of progress, both parties decided to submit the dispute to the International Court of Justice.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-04-11): Pedra Branca is an outlying island situated about 24 nautical miles (45 km) to the east of mainland Singapore.1 It is located at the eastern entrance of the Singapore Strait, from the South China Sea.2 The island is a reef of light grey granite, although corals have encrusted those areas below sea level.3 Horsburgh Lighthouse, the first lighthouse built in Singapore, sits on a solitary rock on the island.4 [...] On 21 December 1979, Malaysia published a new map marking the boundaries of its territorial waters and continental shelf, and claimed for the first time that Pedra Branca was Malaysian territory. Singapore formally protested the map in February 1980, with a diplomatic note requesting amendments to the map.19 Some 14 years of tension ensued until the two countries agreed to submit the dispute to the International Court of Justice in 1994. The formal agreement to do so, however, was signed only a decade later on 24 July 2003.20 The case was recorded by the International Court of Justice as "Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge".21 It was debated by the court from 2004 to 2007.22 Judgement was passed on 23 May 2008. The court ruled Pedra Branca as belonging to Singapore, while Middle Rocks – a nearby pair of small rocks permanently above water – was pronounced as part of Malaysia.23
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-18): On 23 May 2008, the International court of justice (ICJ) ddetermined that sovereignty over Pedra Branca, the largest feature, rests with Singapore whilst Malaysia holds sovereignty over Middle Rocks. Interestingly, the Court did not specifically determine ownership of South Ledge, which is a Low Tide Elevation (LTE, see below). However, it can be logically assumed to be under Malaysian sovereignty as Malaysia holds sovereignty over the nearest feature. This settlement by the ICJ is an important decision that is likely to affect the delimitation of maritime boundaries in the Singapore Strait involving Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. [...] To take a positive view, the legal certainty concerning sovereignty over Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge is an essential requirement of maritime division in the Singapore Strait. Delimitation can only be conducted with the absence of dispute concerning ownership over islands/rocks because claims to maritime jurisdiction flow from sovereignty over land territory. This is similar to the pending of maritime delimitation in the Celebes Sea between Indonesia and Malaysia due to the disputed Sipadan and Ligitan Islands located in the maritime area. Similarly, the dispute of the Paracel and Spratly islands involving several states in Asia-Pacific has also been holding those States from delimiting their maritime boundaries in the South China Sea. Only when the sovereignty over relevant islands is undisputed, can maritime delimitation take place. Therefore, the legal certainty of Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge in the aftermath of the ICJ's decision has removed a major obstacle for Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to delimit their maritime boundaries in the Singapore Strait.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2015-08-01): Pedra Branca is an island located at the eastern entrance to the Straits of Singapore from the South China Sea. The origin of the dispute between Malaysia and Singapore was Singapore’s protest of a map of Malaysia that designated Pedra Branca as Malay territory. After negotiations, both states signed a compromis in 2003. 56 Malaysia claimed the original title of the Sultan of Johor, its predecessor, while Singapore claimed that the construction and commission of the Horsburgh lighthouse constituted acquisition of possession à titre de souverain and the maintenance of title. Singapore added the alternative claim in oral argument that Pedra Branca was terra nullius until its acquisition of possession by the United Kingdom. 57 [...] Case Concerning Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge (Malaysia/Singapore ) ( Pedra Branca case), Judgment, 23 May 2008, ICJ Reports (2008) 12, paras 60–69. This article focuses on Pedra Branca. The argument for Pedra Branca can also be applied to the dispute over original title to Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
Claim: Singapore Strait is a territory of Malaysia (Singapore Strait, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-06-04): The Singapore Strait is a 113 km-long (70 mi), 19 km-wide (12 mi)[2] strait between the Strait of Malacca in the west and the South China Sea in the east. Singapore is on the north of the channel, and the Indonesian Riau Islands are on the south. The two countries share a maritime border along the strait. [...] Historical records [edit]The 9th century AD Muslim author Ya'qubi referred a Bahr Salahit or Sea of Salahit (from the Malay selat meaning strait), one of the Seven Seas to be traversed to reach China. Some have interpreted Sea of Salahit as referring to Singapore,[4] although others generally considered it the Malacca Strait, a point of contact between the Arabs and the Zābaj (likely Sumatra).[5] Among early Europeans travellers to South East Asia, the Strait of Singapore may refer to the whole or the southern portion of the Strait of Malacca as well as other stretches of water.[6] Historians also used the term in plural, "Singapore Straits", to refer to three or four different straits found in recorded in old texts and maps – the Old Strait of Singapore between Sentosa and Telok Blangah, the New Strait of Singapore southwest of Sentosa, the "Governor's Strait" or "Strait of John de Silva" which corresponds to Phillip Channel, and the Tebrau Strait.[7] Today the Singapore Strait refers to the main channel of waterway south of Singapore where the international border between Singapore and Indonesia is located.
Claim: Singapore Strait is a territory of Malaysia (Singapore Strait, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-04-16): Singapore is a global financial and economic hub that sits astride the meeting point of the strategically vital Malacca Strait and the South China Sea. Despite its small size, the island city-state of 6.2 million people is a heavyweight in regional and international affairs. [...] Singapore was a British colony and entrepôt for more than a century. Following World War II, as the British empire unraveled, Singapore gained considerable autonomy in the 1950s and in 1963 joined the Federation of Malaysia. [...] The Malacca Strait is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, with more than 120,000 ships passing through annually, linking major economies such as China and Japan. The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) conducts regular anti-piracy patrols near Singapore’s territorial waters and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, including the Malacca Strait, where piracy and armed robbery have grown in recent years. The RSN has also deployed to support anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden. Singapore has also supported the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State, providing refueling aircraft, imagery analysis, and medical personnel.
Claim: Singapore Strait is a territory of Malaysia (Singapore Strait, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-14): Singapore (Malay: Singapura), officially the State of Singapore (Malay: Negeri Singapura), was one of the 14 states of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965. Malaysia was formed on 16 September 1963 by the merger of the Federation of Malaya with the former British colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore. This marked the end of the 144-year British rule in Singapore which began with the founding of modern Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819.[2] At the time of merger, it was the smallest state in the country by land area, but the largest by population. [...] - ^ "Malaysia-Singapore" (PDF). [...] - S'pore must merge with Malaya, Straits Times, 7 May 1952, 1. (From NewspaperSG)|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19520507-1.2.21
Claim: Singapore Strait is a territory of Malaysia (Singapore Strait, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-05-15): Malaysia’s destiny is maritime. Geographically divided into two by sea, 63 percent of the federation’s borders are maritime borders; its coastline stretches 4,675 km.[1] Peninsular Malaysia—the western portion of the federation—is situated on the eastern shore of the Malacca Strait, a strategically important waterway which ferries approximately 60 percent of global maritime traffic.[2] The territory of the strait is divided between Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and, to a smaller extent, Thailand. [...] Malaysia’s offshore territorial claims include an estimated five billion barrels of oil reserves and 80 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, making it a lucrative target for disputing countries, particularly, China.[5] The Royal Malaysian Navy stationed in the EEZ continues to face challenges in defending their strategic interests from the Chinese navy and coast guard, who trespassed into the EEZ 89 times between 2016 and 2019 alone.[6] The Malaysian Government Audit Report for 2020 revealed Chinese vessels repeatedly exhibiting belligerent attitudes toward the Royal Malaysian Navy during standoffs within the Malaysian EEZ.[7]