copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-24): 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. 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. [...] Last year, Malaysia's Attorney-General Idris Harun said the government was of the view that the 2018 decision to withdraw two applications to the ICJ concerning the sovereignty of Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge was "not in order and improper".
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-12-14): SINGAPORE: Malaysia has asked its attorney-general to clarify its claims on Pedra Branca, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday (Dec 14), adding that he hopes for discussions with Singapore to ensure there are no problems between the two countries. [...] 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. 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 Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-02-22): - 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). [...] - United Nations. 168. Case Concerning Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malaysia/Singapore). In Summaries of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the International Court of Justice 2008–2012; United Nations: New York, NY, USA, 2013. [Google Scholar] - Koh, T. Case Concerning Sovereignty over Pedra Branca I Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malaysia/Singapore); International Court of Justice: Singapore, 2004. [Google Scholar]
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-10-09): KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will study its options with regards to the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) 2008 decision to award Pedra Branca to Singapore, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Saturday (Oct 9). [...] The question of sovereignty over Pedra Branca, along with two neighbouring maritime features Middle Rocks and South Ledge, was brought to the ICJ in 2003. In May 2008, the ICJ awarded Pedra Branca to Singapore, Middle Rocks to Malaysia, and said South Ledge, a rock formation visible only at low tide, belongs to whoever owns the territorial waters it sits in. Both sides have begun negotiations on delimiting the maritime boundaries around Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. Aside from the Pedra Branca issue, the Malaysian Cabinet on Friday also agreed to form special teams tasked with looking into the 2018 death of fireman Adib Kassim and claims made by former attorney-general Tommy Thomas, who served under Tun Dr Mahathir for nearly 21 months until the Pakatan Harapan government collapsed in Feb last year.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (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 Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2003-07-24): 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 Malaysia (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 Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-01-23): The dispute between Singapore and Malaysia over Pedra Branca's sovereignty was resolved in 2008 when the ICJ awarded it to Singapore. Malaysia had staked a claim to Pedra Branca, located about 40km off eastern Singapore, in December 1979, when it published a new map of its territorial waters and continental shelf boundaries. [...] In 2008, the ICJ awarded Pedra Branca to Singapore, Middle Rocks to Malaysia, and said South Ledge, a rock formation visible only at low tide, belongs to whoever owns the territorial waters it sits in.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (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 Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-03-14): Pedra Branca’s location – 24 nautical miles east of Singapore and eight nautical miles south of Johor – is seen as strategic as it lies in the eastern approach to a key sea channel leading to the island nation from the South China Sea. [...] The second document was a naval report from the same year that suggested a British naval vessel assigned for Singapore’s protection regarded Pedra Branca as Malaysian territory. And the third was a map from 1962, but with handwritten notes from 1966 – a year after Singapore attained independence – that depicted Pedra Branca as outside the island nation’s territorial waters. [...] One possible reason for Malaysia’s decision to challenge the sovereignty of Pedra Branca despite the risk to bilateral relations, some observers say, could be the powerful Johor monarchy’s repeated insistence that the isle belongs to it.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2008-05-23): Whether the sovereignty over Perda Branca/Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge belonged to Singapore or Malaysia.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-02-10): Malaysia’s application to overturn the 2008 decision by The International Court of Justice (ICJ) to award sovereignty of the island of Pedra Branca to Singapore hinges on three documents, according to media reports. [...] The second document is a naval incident report sent to the Governor of Singapore that said a British naval vessel could not intervene when a Malaysian vessel was being followed by an Indonesian gunboat as it "was still inside Johor territorial waters". The incident report showed that the British navy "did not view the waters around Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh as belonging to Singapore", according to the application. [...] Besides Pedra Branca, the sovereignty of the Middle Rocks and South Ledge were also considered in the 2008 case. The ICJ ruled that the Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia, while it withheld from deciding on the sovereignty of South Ledge.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-25): Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stated on Wednesday that a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) will commence on the alleged mishandling of sovereignty disputes in Pedra Branca by the former administration after the Malaysian King appoints the RCI’s members. In 2003, Malaysia and Singapore agreed to the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) jurisdiction to determine whether Malaysia or Singapore enjoys sovereignty over three groups of islets in the South China Sea, namely Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. In 2008, the ICJ concluded that Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore, Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia and South Ledge belongs to the State in the territorial waters of which it is located. The court reasoned that even though Malaysia had a valid original title to Pedra Branca, Malaysian authorities demonstrated no intention to claim ownership of the island from the British colonial government in 1953. Subsequently, Singapore’s investigating shipwrecks within the island’s territorial waters and Malaysian authorities’ requesting Singapore’s permission to survey the waters surrounding the island may be seen as conduct à titre de souverain (conduct as a sovereign), and therefore constituted a transfer of sovereignty.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-10-31): Singapore filed its written observations on Malaysia’s request for interpretation of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ)’s judgment in the case regarding sovereignty over Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge on Tuesday (31 Oct), said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). [...] Pedra Branca, which covers an area of about 8,560 sq m, is an outlying island and forms the eastern-most point of Singapore. Middle Rocks and South Ledge are two nearby maritime features. Pedra Branca has been the subject of a territorial dispute between Singapore and Malaysia since 1979. The ICJ ruled in 2008 that Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore, and that Middle Rocks is Malaysian territory. [...] In April, Singapore formed a legal team comprising Attorney-General Lucien Wong, Professor S Jayakumar, Professor Tommy Koh, and former Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong to study Malaysia’s application. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said then that Singapore is confident of retaining Pedra Branca as the Republic had a ‘strong case’.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (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 Malaysia (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: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-07-20): Sovereignty over Pedra Branca island, which lies approximately 24 nautical miles to the east of Singapore and 7.7 nautical miles to the south of the Malaysian State of Johor, became a subject of dispute since 1979, when Malaysia published a map indicating the island to be part of its territory. The island dispute went to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2003, together with two other maritime features near Pedra Branca, namely Middle Rocks and South Ledge. 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. [...] How could Singapore’s land reclamation efforts impact Malaysia? As of 2021, the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Technical Committee (MSJTC) has yet to conclude the Maritime Boundary Delimitation of Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge. South Ledge remains a disputed maritime feature between Malaysia and Singapore, given that sovereignty over it depends on which nation enjoys sovereignty over the territorial waters of Pedra Branca or Middle Rocks, as per the ICJ’s 2008 ruling.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (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. [...] The ruling at the time put an end to a protracted dispute between the two countries that began in 1979 when Malaysia, which refers to the outcrop as Pulau Batu Puteh, published a map depicting it as within its territorial waters.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (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. [...] Political analyst Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow with the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, said the Pedra Branca issue had been settled by ICJ’s ruling and that Malaysia has likely missed the boat for any further appeals.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Malaysia (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. [...] 3 Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge (Malay./Sing.) (Int’l Ct. Justice May 23, 2008). The basic documents, decisions, pleadings, transcripts, press releases, and other materials for this case and others are available on the Court’s Web site, <http://www.icj-cij.org>.
Claim: Pedra Branca is a territory of Singapore (Pedra Branca, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-27): On 21 December 1979, Malaysia published a map that showed the island to be within its territorial waters. This ignited a 29-year territorial dispute which, together with the issue of sovereignty over the nearby maritime features of Middle Rocks and South Ledge, the disputants presented to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for resolution. On 23 May 2008, the ICJ ruled that Pedra Branca was under Singapore's sovereignty. At this point, the ICJ also noted Singapore's plans to conduct reclamation at Pedra Branca.[2] Although the island had originally been under the sovereignty of the Johor Sultanate, the United Kingdom and Singapore had carried out various acts of sovereignty in respect of the island. The failure of Malaysia and its predecessors to respond to these acts, and other actions that demonstrated their acknowledgment of Singapore's sovereignty over the island, meant that Singapore had gained sovereignty over Pedra Branca. On the other hand, Middle Rocks remain part of Malaysian territory as Singapore had not manifested any acts of sovereignty in respect to it. The Court did not rule definitively on the remaining outcrop, South Ledge, declaring that it belonged 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 (2022-12-14): Singapore said in October that it stood ready to "robustly defend" its sovereignty over Pedra Branca. [...] Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) responded then that Singapore stood ready to "robustly defend" its sovereignty over Pedra Branca, 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.