Singapore and Malaysia have moved to ease tensions between the two Southeast Asian neighbours who have been locked in a maritime territorial dispute.
Both countries have agreed to suspend their overlapping port limit claims which were implemented late last year.
The mutual suspension took place at 12.01am on Monday, Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said in a statement.
In late October Malaysia gazetted an extension of its Johor Bahru port limits in a manner which Singapore said “encroached” into its territorial waters off Tuas.
The situation escalated in early December when Singapore extended its port limits off Tuas, and warned would not hesitate to take “firm actions” against the intrusion of Malaysian government vessels in its waters.
The suspension of overlapping port limit claims is one of five measures recommended by a working group on maritime issues and announced by the two countries last month.
Other measures agreed at the 14 March meeting included the suspension of commercial activities in the area, as well as not to anchor government vessels in the area.
Both countries also agreed that Malaysian and Singapore vessels will operate in the area in accordance with international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The relevant agencies on both sides are said to be working out practical modalities to avoid untoward incidents in the area.
Finally, Malaysia and Singapore also agreed to establish a committee for boundary delimitation which will ensure implementation of the first four recommendations by 14 April 2019, after which the committee will begin negotiations for maritime boundary delimitation in the area.
Commercial shipping has largely avoided being caught up in the territorial dispute between Malaysia and Singapore.
Last week, the captain of a Greek panamax bulker was blamed for a collision with a Malaysian government vessel off Singapore that took place in the disputed area.
The master of the 77,000-dwt Pireas (built 2006) is said to have received a “stern warning” over the incident, according to the MPA.
In the early February incident the Pireas was en route from Singapore to Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia when it collided with the Malaysian Marine Department ship Polaris.
No injuries were reported after the collision, which occurred against the backdrop of an ongoing maritime boundary dispute between Singapore and Malaysia.
Singapore authorities say the Polaris had been anchored in a non-designated anchorage within the Singapore Port Limits when it was hit.
The Pireas and its crew were latter detained by Malaysian authorities when it arrived in Tanjung Pelepas. The vessel was subsequently released.
