Singapore’s Wong and Malaysia’s Anwar say both countries’ ties can be Asean model

Singapore and Malaysia on January 11 signed an agreement on a new Johor-Singapore special economic zone under which both sides will work towards boosting the cross-border flow of goods and people, and supporting investments on both sides of the Causeway.

“What we are doing between Singapore-Malaysia and between Johor-Singapore is also in many ways what Asean ought to be doing to strengthen our economic integration as one community. So I’m very hopeful that Malaysia and Singapore can provide that strong anchor for a stronger and more integrated Asean community,” said Wong.

On the issues of maritime boundaries between Singapore and Malaysia, Anwar said he understood their complexities and hoped they could be resolved by the next bilateral leaders’ retreat.

“It is something that we as good neighbours have to get and I am a bit ambitious. I want this to be able to showcase to the region and the world how good neighbours should behave and interact so I look forward to that sort of final amicable resolution,” Anwar said.

Singapore and Malaysia have been trying to resolve their maritime boundary delimitation issues and implementing the International Court of Justice’s 2008 ruling on Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.

Following the leaders’ retreat last October, then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Anwar noted that a technical working group on the agreement between both countries to delimit precisely their territorial waters’ boundary held their first meeting in June 2023.

Singapore had protested against Malaysia’s maritime boundary extension in October 2018, saying it resulted in Malaysian government vessels making repeated incursions into Singapore waters, with the city state responding by extending its port limits