Malaysian naval ships will continue patrolling waters surrounding the disputed Batu Puteh island despite complaints from Singapore, Defence Minister Najib Razak said today.

"We have a right to continue the patrols and these patrols conducted by Malaysia are not something new but have been going o­n since 1964," he told the official Bernama news agency.

Najib was reacting to accusations by Singaporean Defence Minister Tony Tan that Malaysian vessels had recently intruded repeatedly into territorial waters around the island, known to Singapore as Pedra Branca.

Najib said Malaysia had no intention of causing tension through the patrols.

"The patrols that we have conducted and will conduct are non-aggressive in that, for example, we don't show our cannons, missiles or radar," he said.

Three violations

Tan told parliament o­n Monday: "There were three violations by Malaysian state vessels over the last week of December. There were five more violations last week.

"In these incidents, the Malaysian vessels came close to Pedra Branca and conducted various activities," he said, pledging that Singapore's navy would defend the country's sovereignty.

The two countries have agreed to sign a pact to refer the dispute over the rocky outcrop o­n their maritime border to the International Court of Justice o­n Feb 6.

Singapore said it has exercised sovereign rights o­n the islet since the 1840s when the British colonial government occupied it and constructed a lighthouse. Malaysia maintains it has had sovereignty over the territory since the early 16th century.