FOREIGN Affairs Minister George Yeo yesterday made it clear that bilateral talks on a proposed bridge to replace the Causeway are ongoing.

He said the outcome of these talks should not be speculated upon.

This is contrary to recent Malaysian media reports which said Kuala Lumpur was ready to proceed with the building of the bridge.

Mr Yeo was responding to a question from Ms Irene Ng (Tampines GRC) on the issue.

He told the House: 'Although there have been news reports in the Malaysian media suggesting that Malaysia has decided to go ahead with the construction of a bridge to replace the Causeway, I would like to clarify to this House that discussions on the bridge are still ongoing and we should not pre-judge the outcome.'

He also said that Singapore's position on the bridge remains unchanged.

The Republic would agree to Malaysia's proposal for the new bridge only if there was a balance of benefits to both sides.

'Only then can the considerable cost of building our side of the new bridge be justified,' he said.

Senior officials from both sides met on Sept 7 to discuss the bridge and other bilateral issues. They will meet again tomorrow.

But details of the negotiations will not be publicised while they are going on.

This decision to keep discussions away from the glare of the media was what the two leaders leading the talks on bilateral issues, namely Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, had agreed on in March this year.

Yesterday, Ms Ng also asked about a Malaysian media report which quoted Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar as saying Malaysia would go ahead to build a half-bridge, even if Singapore did not agree to the proposal.

Mr Yeo said he was 'wary' about commenting on media reports, which were not always accurate.

Instead, he reminded the House that Singapore had sent a diplomatic note to KL on Oct 25, 2003 to state the Republic's stand on any unilateral move to demolish half of the Causeway.

'Our third-party note pointed out that international facilities such as the Causeway cannot be lawfully demolished without the approval, agreement and involvement of both states.

'We also expressed concern about the potential environmental impacts and other impacts arising from the dismantling of the Causeway,' he said.

Mr Yeo said since then, Singapore had sent several more diplomatic notes to Malaysia to restate its position on the half-bridge.

'Ms Irene Ng asked what would be the implications of a half-bridge, if built without our agreement. The implications would be serious,' he said.

At the same time, Mr Yeo also noted the many positive developments in bilateral ties.

These included increased bilateral cooperation and high-level visits by leaders of both sides.

For example, in April, President S R Nathan visited Kuala Lumpur at the invitation of the Malaysian King, the first state visit by a Singapore president since 1991. He, in return, invited the King to visit Singapore.

Last month, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia also launched a new air patrol known as 'Eyes in the Sky' to enhance maritime security in the Malacca Strait.

On the overall state of Singapore-Malaysia relations, Mr Yeo told the House: 'I am confident that our two countries will continue to look ahead, and not allow old issues to affect our overall cooperation or to define the entire bilateral relationship.'

lydia@sph.com.sg