The islands are located in sea areas with many important shipping routes.
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Reuters reported on January 24 that Malaysia will establish a royal inquiry commission to review cases related to three disputed islands in the Singapore Strait.
These islands include Pedra Branca, known to Malaysia as Pulau Batu Puteh, and the Middle Rocks group (2 islands).
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had earlier called for a review of Malaysia's 2018 decision, made under former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, to withdraw its application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to review its decision to recognise one of the three islands as belonging to Singapore.
In its 2008 ruling, the ICJ recognized that Middle Rocks belonged to Malaysia, while Pedra Branca belonged to Singapore.
In 2017, Malaysia asked the ICJ to review the Pedra Branca ruling, but withdrew the application a year later, when Mahathir was prime minister .
Malaysia's Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali said on January 23 that recommendations on the composition of the inquiry committee will be forwarded to the king for approval.
“The recommendations include experts with extensive experience in judicial, legal and public administration matters who can conduct a transparent, fair and equitable investigation,” said Mohd Zuki.
In 2018, Mr Mahathir said only that the government was “reconsidering” the complaint, while announcing his intention to develop Middle Rocks into “a small island”.
The islands are located near some of the world’s most important shipping lanes. In 2017, the Bernama news agency reported that Malaysia had opened a base called Abu Bakar on Middle Rocks, which includes a jetty, a lighthouse and a helipad.
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