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MFA SPOKESMAN'S COMMENTS
FORMER MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER, TUN DR MAHATHIR
MOHAMAD'S COMMENTS ON BILATERAL RELATIONS
In response to media queries on former
Malaysian PM Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad's comments that
Singapore "is getting bolder now that they could even threaten us",
which appeared in Utusan
Malaysia on 6 November 2005, the MFA Spokesman said:
"Minister
for Foreign Affairs George Yeo said he was
surprised and dismayed to hear that former Malaysian Prime Minister
Tun Dr Mahathir
Mohamad had interpreted his response to
supplementary questions in Parliament as a "threat".
In Parliament on 17 October 2005, Member of
Parliament Ms Irene Ng had asked Minister Yeo
what the implications would be should Malaysia unilaterally decide to
build a 'half-bridge' to replace its side of the Causeway. Minister
Yeo had replied that the implications of
building a half-bridge, without Singapore's consent, would be
"serious". Minister Yeo explained that
Malaysia's decision to construct a half-bridge had to comply with the
principles enunciated in the Order issued by the International Tribunal
for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on 8 October 2003. Any action also had
to be fully consistent with the requirements of international law
governing such matters. International facilities, such as the Causeway,
could not be lawfully demolished without the approval, agreement and
involvement of both States concerned.
The ITLOS proceedings were initiated by
Malaysia in June 2003 on Singapore's land reclamation works in and
around the Straits of Johor. ITLOS did not
order Singapore to stop these works, but in the course of the hearings,
recognising that Malaysia and Singapore shared the same marine
environment in and around the Straits of Johor,
ITLOS ruled that any work which might impact the environment of a
neighbouring state required the country to carry out proper studies and
consultations with the affected country first. Since October 2003
Singapore has reminded Malaysia of its obligations under ITLOS through
several Third Party Notes (TPNs).
Minister Yeo's
point about the implications of building a half-bridge without
Singapore's agreement was not a "threat". It was to highlight
the serious legal implications which such a move would have under ITLOS."
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
8 NOVEMBER 2005
Source:
www.gov.sg Press Release 8 Nov 2005
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs comments
on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's comments on bilateral relations
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