Singapore’s navy, police hold joint exercise on Pedra Branca

SINGAPORE — A routine contingency response exercise, involving the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF), was held on Pedra Branca in August.

As part of the exercise, RSN and SPF personnel successfully intercepted and took down a simulated armed civilian intruder — a “testament to the operational readiness of our security forces”, the RSN said in a Facebook post on Friday (Sep 29).

“The RSN and the SPF conduct regular exercises to ensure that their contingency plans for the defence of Pedra Branca against any threats or intrusions are well practised. We also maintain a 24/7 watch to guard against any intrusions,” it added.

The ownership of Pedra Branca has been the subject of a long-running dispute between Singapore and Malaysia.

It took more than 20 years for the dispute to be brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July 2003. In May 2008, after several rounds of written pleadings and public hearings, the court ruled Pedra Branca to be Singapore territory.

The ICJ also ruled that sovereignty over the Middle Rocks belongs to Malaysia.

However, in February this year, Malaysia filed a challenge to the ruling, following what it claimed was the discovery of new facts from three documents recently discovered in the United Kingdom’s national archive.

In June, Putrajaya filed another application asking the ICJ to interpret its ruling on Pedra Branca.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the application by saying that the ICJ judgment was “clear and unambiguous” and that Malaysia’s case was puzzling and groundless.