Pulau Ligitan

Pulau Ligitan
Location of Pulau Ligitan in the Celebes Sea
Waters	Celebes Sea
Geographical location	4 ° 10 ′ 0 ″  N , 118 ° 53 ′ 0 ″  E Coordinates: 4 ° 10 ′ 0 ″  N , 118 ° 53 ′ 0 ″  E
length	650 m
width	410 m
surface	7.9 ha
Highest elevation	9  m
Residents	uninhabited

Ligitan ( Mal. Pulau Ligitan ) is an island belonging to Malaysia in the Celebes Sea . It is located about 46 kilometers southeast of Semporna and 110 kilometers east of Tawau off the east coast of Borneo .

geography

The 7.9 hectare island rises 9 meters from the sea.

Pulau Ligitan belongs together with the islands of Pulau Danawan , Pulau Kapalai , Pulau Mabul , Pulau Si Amil and Pulau Sipadan to the so-called "Ligitan Group" ( Gugusan Ligitan ). It is located in the south of an extensive coral reef Ligitan Coral Reef ( Ligitan Coral Shelf ), at the northern end of which are the islands of Pulau Danawan and Pulau Si Amil, 20 km away. The other three islands in the group are to the west of this reef complex.

history

In the recent past, the islands of Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan have sparked disputes between Malaysia and Indonesia. Indonesia denied Malaysia sovereignty over the two islands , citing the historical division of Pulau Sebatik along a line 4 ° 10 'north latitude . Indonesia argued that the line established by the Dutch-British Border Commission on February 17, 1913 also applies to all islands east of Sebatik. However, the International Court of Justice in The Hague did not follow this line of argument and in 2002 ruled that the islands of the Ligitan Group belong to Malaysia. The judges saw the fact that the legal predecessors of Malaysia, namely the North Borneo Chartered Company and later the United Kingdom , "exercised a legislative, administrative and quasi-legal function over a long period of time" as the main reason for the decision . Neither Indonesia nor its legal predecessor, the Netherlands, had ever contradicted these activities.

A claim by the Philippines to the islands had already been rejected by the court in 2001.

Diving

The island, like the other islands and reefs in the Ligitan Group, is a popular destination for diving enthusiasts. However, the underwater world is severely disturbed by the practice of dynamite fishing used there.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Sailing Directions (Enroute) - Borneo, Jawa, Sulawesi and Nusa Tenggara (PDF; 5.8 MB), United States Navy Publication 163, sector 10, page 283, 2002; Accessed August 24, 2012
2. ↑ ^{a b} Ligitan Coral Shelf - Diving Guide ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.5 MB); Accessed July 12, 2012 
3. ↑ The Oceanway Corporation Limited: Short form Diving Guide, Ligitan Coral Shelf, The New Sipadan Experience ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.5 MB) 
4. ↑ International Court of Justice: CASE CONCERNING SOVEREIGNTY OVER PULAU LIGITAN AND PULAU SIPADAN, here: Memorial of Malaysia ( Memento of the original from June 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 5.4 MB); Accessed July 12, 2012 
5. ↑ International Court of Justice: ditto REPLY OF MALAYSIA ( Memento of the original of November 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 6.5 MB); Accessed July 12, 2012 
6. ↑ International Court of Justice: Case concerning souvereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan (Indonesia / Malaysia). Reply submitted by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 8.0 MB) 
7. ↑ United Nations: INTERNATIONAL COURT FINDS THAT SOVEREIGNTY OVER ISLANDS OF LIGITAN AND SIPADAN BELONGS TO MALAYSIA ; Accessed July 12, 2012

Remarks

1. ↑ The values ​​were approximately determined by evaluating the satellite image from google maps.
2. ↑ For details on the reasons for this division, see the article "Tawau" .