PUTRAJAYA – Singapore and Malaysia have agreed Thursday (March 14) to jointly suspend overlapping port claims in the waters off Tuas, saying this was vital to end a standoff which has seen at least one collision in the waters since the dispute began in December. 

A joint statement by Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah after their meeting Thursday morning said they agreed to implement the suspension effective immediately. 

“Both Foreign Ministers agreed that these measures were vital to deescalate the situation on the ground, and pave the way for maritime boundary delimitation of the area,” the statement said. 

Singapore and Malaysia will instead apply their port limits in effect prior to Dec 6 and Oct 25 respectively, undoing the overlap. 

Both parties will also suspend and not authorise any commercial activities in the area, and neither will anchor government vessels there. 

A joint committee, headed by the Permanent Secretary and the Secretary General from Singapore’s and Malaysia’s foreign ministries respectively, will ensure these steps are implemented within a month. Negotiations for new boundaries to resolve the overlapping claims will commence within a month after that. 

The two ministers stressed that “these measures taken by both countries shall be without prejudice to Malaysia’s and Singapore’s respective maritime boundary claims in the area”.

On Feb 9, a Greek ship collided with a Malaysian government vessel that was anchored in the disputed zone, following which Singapore’s Foreign Ministry repeated its call for the withdrawal of Malaysian assets from the waters as their presence “poses a threat to safety of navigation in the area”.

Source: Read Full Article