SINGAPORE: The jagged white, wind-swept rocks terrified sailors for centuries — a piercing reef reviled by colonial traders, cherished by pirates and now at the heart of a bitter territorial row.

Malaysia and Singapore agreed on Thursday to take competing claims over the tiny islet in the Singapore Strait to the World Court in The Hague, moving closer to ending one of the region’s longest-running territorial disputes.

Diplomatic jousting over the rocks, known in Singapore as Pedra Branca and in Malaysia as Pulau Batuh Puteh — both names mean white rock — has re-awakened historic rivalries between the neighbours in recent weeks, even sparking talk of war.

In December, as passions in the dispute ran high on both sides of the straits, Malaysia’s official news agency quoted Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar as saying: “Singapore has two choices. If it refuses to compromise...go to war”.

Political analysts dismissed Syed Hamid’s comment as far-fetched and a reflection of domestic politics in Malaysia, where verbal thrashings of Singapore often score votes. Both countries maintain strong security, social and economic ties, working hand-in-glove in the war against terror. Both are also members of regional security alliances and the Five Power Defence Agreement with Australia, New Zealand and Britain.

But the tough words over the 60-metre islet, where Singapore maintains a lighthouse, rankled Singaporeans, adding fuel to fiery debate over other outstanding bilateral issues, including the price of water supplied by Malaysia to resource-starved Singapore.

However, Singaporean Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar denounced “loose talk of war”. Two days later, in Malaysia, Syed Hamid denied he had threatened war.—Reuters