Friday, May 23, 2008

Singapore Wins Tiny Isand

The result is in. The International Court of Justice has ruled in favor of Singapore in its 29-year dispute with Malaysia over the tiny, uninhabited island of Pedra Branca.

I’m not sure how, but the UN court in The Hague ruled 12 votes to four that sovereignty belonged to Singapore. Now the main reason for the dispute is due to the strategic position of the island. Pedra Branca is located by the Malacca Strait, which carries 40% of the world's trade.

This is good news for Singapore, but I hope there won’t be too much blowing of trumpets by the Singapore press. Most Singaporeans are like me…how can Singapore claim the island when it is about 4 times closer to Malaysia than to Singapore? Thank god for arcane laws and high priced lawyers.

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