THE HAGUE - Malaysia told the world court Thursday that treaties signed by its former British colonial power nearly a century ago justified its sovereignty of two resource-rich islands over competing Indonesian claims.

"Malaysia and its predecessors have administered these islands without interruption, peacefully, under a claim of title," Kuala Lumpur's representative Abdul Kadir told the International Court of Justice during opening arguments.

The two-week hearing, which began Monday, deals with a territorial dispute over Sipadan and Litigan, islands in the Sulawesi sea off Sabah that are known as a diver's paradise, and are coveted by the states for their oil and natural gas reserves.

Kadir pointed to two treaties signed between England and the United States in 1907 and 1930 to demonstrate Malaysia's historic sovereignty of the isles.

The British North Borneo Company, followed by imperial British forces, controlled the contested isles before an independent Malaysia took over administration.

Like Malaysia, Indonesia had also based its argument Monday on a former colonial agreement.

Jakarta's representative had argued that a 1891 Anglo-Dutch treaty establishing territorial boundaries gave it sovereign rights. But Kadir said the treaty "did not apportion the maritime areas" and thus was "irrelevant to the two islands" under dispute.

Dispute since 1969

The territorial conflict with Indonesia dates back to 1969 when the two countries, unable to define the boundaries, decided to maintain the status quo borders temporarily.

They signed an accord in May 1997, handing the ICJ responsibility for resolving the dispute "in the spirit of friendly relations," adding that they would accept the court's decision as "final and binding upon them".

This is the first Southeast Asian territorial dispute to go to the ICJ, the supreme legal body of the United Nations.

Sipadan drew international attention in April 2000 after a band of Muslim rebels - the Abu Sayyaf gang from neighboring Philippines - raided the island and kidnapped 21 Malaysians and foreigners.