Malaysia had filed an application requesting the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to interpret its 2008 judgment on the sovereignty dispute between Malaysia and Singapore over Pulau Batu Puteh, said attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali.

Mohamed Apandi said the filing was needed as a bilateral committee set up to implement the judgment of the case had reached an impasse.

"One reason for this impasse is that the parties are unable to agree on the meaning of the 2008 judgment," he said in a statement today.