File:Pulau batu puteh letter.jpg

A letter dated 21 September 1953 with reference number SSJ. 1120/53/6 from M. Seth bin Saaid, the Acting State Secretary of Johor, Malaysia, to the Colonial Secretary of Singapore. Responding to an earlier letter dated 12 June 1953 with reference number CSO. 11692/52 from the Colonial Secretary, the letter states that "the Johore Government does not claim ownership of Pedra Branca".

http://www.mfa.gov.sg/pedrabranca/multimediagallery/Letterof19530921(SingaporeMemorial).html.

Pedra Branca dispute

Whole.

Yes.

The letter is of great importance to the Pedra Branca case between Malaysia and Singapore before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as the ICJ found that the letter indicated that by 1953 Malaysia had recognized Singapore's sovereignty over the disputed island of Pedra Branca in the South China Sea. The ICJ ultimately held that even though the island had originally belonged to the Johor Sultanate, Singapore had proved that its actions and those of its predecessor, the United Kingdom, with respect to the island had caused it to gain sovereignty over the island from Malaysia.

The copyright in the image is probably owned by the State Government of Johor or the Federal Government of Malaysia. In addition, the website of the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs from which the image was taken bears the statement "(c) 2007 Government of Singapore". The disclaimer page of the ICJ's website, from which the image is also obtainable, states: "Information or data contained on this site may not be reproduced or used for commercial purposes." The image is not replaceable, as it is not reasonably feasible to obtain a copyright-free version of the letter.