Pedra Branca
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Pedra Branca or Pulau Batu Puteh (both meaning "white rock" in Portuguese and Malay respectively; Chinese: 白礁) () is an outcrop of rocks situated where the Singapore Strait, specifically Straits of Johor, meets the South China Sea, measuring at its longest, during low water spring tide, a mere 137 meters. It has a land area of 2,000 m². It is known as Pedra Branca in Singapore and Pulau Batu Puteh in Malaysia.
The island was recorded as early as 1583, by the Dutch voyager Johann van Linschoten, that Pedra Branca is "where ships that come and go to and from China pass in great danger and some are left upon it". The rocks get their name from years of accumulated bird droppings which hardened upon the rock.
The rocks have long been a navigational hazard. For example, between 1824 and 1851, at least twenty-five sizeable vessels met with disaster on those rocks. Between 2000 and 2004 there were two reports of ship collisions.
In 1851, the Horsburgh lighthouse was built and named after Captain James Horsburgh, a Scottish hydrographer to the East India Company who mapped the waters of the area.
Territorial dispute
Ownership of the island is disputed by Singapore and Malaysia. Malaysia first claimed the island in 1979 when the country published new official maps. Singapore, on the other hand, states that it has managed Horsburgh Lighthouse and exercised full sovereignty over the island since the 1840s without any protest from Malaysia.Pedra Branca. ["Singapore's position over Pedra Branca"]. Retrieved February 14 2006. However, Malaysia insists that when Johor ceded Singapore to the British in 1824, the island was not part of the secession and that the Sultan of Johor only allowed the British to construct a lighthouse on the island in 1844. New Straits Times. ["Spotlight on Batu Puteh"]. Retrieved February 14 2006.
In 1994, both sides agreed to bring the matter to International Court of Justice. Pedra Branca. ["Singapore's position over Pedra Branca"]. Retrieved February 14 2006. Both countries have made written submissions to the Court and the case is expected to be heard in 2007.
References
See also
External links
- [Picture of the lighthouse]
- [High Resolution Picture]
- [Lighthouse Explorer Database]
- [Decisions of the International Court of Justice]
- [Information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore]
- [Water trade and Pedra Branca]
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| Former islands: Anak Pulau | Berhala Reping | Pulau Ayer Chawan | Pulau Ayer Merbau | Pulau Bakau | Pulau Darat | Pulau Merlimau | Pulau Mesemut Darat | Pulau Mesemut Laut | Pulau Meskol | Pulau Pesek | Pulau Pesek Kecil | Pulau Saigon | Pulau Sajahat | Pulau Sajahat Kechil | Pulau Sakeng/Pulau Sekang/Pulau Seking | Pulau Sakra | Pulau Sanyongkong | Pulau Semechek | Pulau Seraya | Pulau Tekong Kechil | Terumbu Retan Laut | ||
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