Rockall, Asian Style

Apparently, World War 3 nearly broke out here a couple of years ago between Singapore and Malaysia over 3 disputed "islands". Known as Pedra Branca in Singapore, they are back in the news this week again because someone wrote a book about the struggle for the sovereign territory.

I finally got a look at what the hullabaloo was about on the telly yesterday. Basically, it seemed to me that it was just 3 piles of rock which barely broke the surface! In fairness, one pile has a lighthouse on it so it was more significant. Like with Rockall, it's not so much what they are, but where they are. While looking at them, you'd think that it would hardly be worth getting your knickers in a flap over them, they have huge strategic value in the region. Because of that, also like Rockall, politicians have been sailing out to the rocks claiming them for their respective countries. However, no Singaporean politician has done a "Seán Dublin Bay Loftus" yet and shown his commitment to the cause by legally renamed himself with the name of the "islands"!

For those interested, the current state of play for Singapore is lost 1, won 1 (the main pile!) and the third pile is still disputed! Looking at the map, they are much closer to Malaysia and even Indonesia than Singapore, so the locals can count themselves lucky that the Brits stuck their oar in years ago and gave them historical grounds for victory!