Saturday, November 10, 2007 ; 3:42 PM♥
What's up with Pedra Branca?
TOTALLY clueless about the Pedra Branca saga? Well, here's to clear some doubts so you will at least know what's going on if you're asked about it when school reopens.Pedra Branca, or Pulau Batu Puteh is basically a bunch of rocks with a lighthouse on it. To be more specific, a bunch of rocks under Singapore administration (even under the British) since 1851, the same year that the Horsburgh Lighthouse was built on it. So why the dispute?
When Singapore separated from Malysia on the 9th of August 1965, ownership of Pedra Branca was never set in black and white. Singapore assumed it still had rights over the island and continued maintaining it. All the drama started when Malaysia included Pedra Branca in a map of its territories. Singapore, of course lodged a formal protest against it. Singapore proposed bringing the matter up to the International Court of Justice in 1989, and finally, in 1994, Malaysia agreed and their case is being battled out these few weeks. Singapore presenting its case in the first 8 days, Malaysia the next and then they would be allowed to rebutt each others points in the next few days.
(additional resource: Wikipedia article)
Being a whole lot closer to Malaysia than it is to Singapore, one could easily understand why Malaysia wants the island and claims that it is theirs. However, being a Singaporean, I shall talk about why Singapore needs the island and the implications of Malaysia gaining the right to the island.
As I had mentioned earlier, Horsburgh Lighthouse is located on Pedra Branca. The aim of this lighthouse being erected there is to guide ships into Singaporean waters. Needless to say, that lighthouse is very important up till this day for Singapore trade.
Now,imagine what would happen if Malaysia gained rights to the island and shuts down the lighthouse. Ships would not be able to steer into Singapore waters at night or during bad weather. Ships that attempt to do so would crash into Pedra Branca (it being rocks and all) and because of that, less ships would get into Singapore ports and the trade would decline SHARPLY. Billions of dollars would be loss and what would that mean? Yes, that's right, the economy would be very badly affected and many people would lose their jobs, especially those dealing with the ports. With people jobless, many more families would have financial difficulty leading to social problems and the like. I could go on, but it will turn out so long, it would be like a mini-essay =\
Besides affecting the economy, the loss of Pedra Branca would also mean the loss of nautical miles. Law of the sea; anything within a certain distance from the land mass belonging to a country belongs to that country. Meaning fish and whatever found within. Needless to say, that has it's own importance.
Apart from the importance of the lighthouse, can anything be done with Pedra Branca? Well, personally I don't think so. The island is too small to build anything on it and I really doubt land reclamation being possible. It is, of course mainly rocks right now but that's beside the point. Let me draw something to illustrate.
The routes would become narrower if land is reclaimed making it harder for ships to reach Singapore ports. Also, the routes are all around the island, just imagine, how many lighthouses need to be built on the reclaimed land just to ensure that the ships are guided safely? More than one, I'm sure. Because of the land mass, one lighthouse can't possibly be enough.
But of course, everything in this post is what I think. If you have any comments or additional points to add, feel free to comment =)
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