Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has an idea on how to resolve the maritime dispute between Singapore and Malaysia.

Just leave the Malaysian vessels where they are.

Speaking at a dialogue session on Saturday morning, Dec. 22, organised by Popular Bookstore at its Bookfest@Singapore for about 80 registered participants, Goh recalled how the current kerfuffle reminded him of a previous dispute over Pedra Branca.

"The Malaysian vessels intruding into our waters is actually a re-enactment of what they did when we had a dispute over Pedra Branca," he said.

Similar to Pedra Branca case

Goh was Prime Minister when Malaysia sent ships into Singapore territorial waters near Pedra Branca, which had been under Singaporean jurisdiction for decades.

Malaysia even anchored two or three ships near Pedra Branca, to "make a point", Goh said.

Goh explained his government's decision and response then:

"Well, we could point our guns at them and said, 'Get out, or we'll shoot'. But that could start a very, very serious conflict. So, we decided that we'll leave the boats alone."

Instead of provoking a conflict, Singapore circled their own boats around the anchored Malaysian vessels to remind them that these were Singaporean waters.

The dispute was then referred to an international tribunal for arbitration and a decision followed.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 2008 that Pedra Branca belonged to Singapore.

Vessels in Singapore waters makes no difference to the legal case

Goh also said the presence of Malaysian vessels in Singapore's waters does nothing for Malaysia: "(The vessels) being there makes no difference whatsoever to the case."

Moreover, time is on Singapore's side.

Goh elaborated: "We thought, just leave the ships there alone, and after a while they will go back. Because to live on the boat for three, four, five days, up to a week, they will get seasick."

Goh allowed that the current situation in the Straits of Johor was slightly different, as the waters are calmer and the port operations mean more ships are present.

But he said the important thing is to react calmly, discuss things bilaterally, and if an agreement cannot be reached, to refer the case to international arbitrators.

Helping to build a 5G leadership

Besides discussing the maritime dispute, Goh also shared his views on the future of Singapore's political leadership.

Referring to the recent vote for finance minister Heng Swee Keat to assume the role of the PAP's 1st Assistant Secretary-General, Goh said he was happy that the party had chosen "who their next leader will be".

On New Year's eve 2017, approximately one year ago, Goh said then it was realistic to give a timeline of six to nine months for a new successor to be chosen.

At the Saturday event, he said that he hoped to live "another 10 years or so" to help the 4G leadership bring in new leaders, who would eventually take over as the 5G leaders of Singapore.

Goh said that he "strongly believed" in managed political succession, and that the party had to plan for succession.

He drew a comparison to succession in the corporate world, where board members and CEO could get together to choose their successors.

But for a country, it was up to a "throw of the dice".

Goh said: "I don't believe in that. I believe whenever you throw the dice, you must come up (with) a six."

He added that the last thing he wanted to accomplish in politics was to help build a strong team of 5G leaders to lead Singapore for the next 20 to 30 years.

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Top image by Joshua Lee