Malaysia and Singapore have began the judicial process to resolve the ownership row over a tiny island with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Malaysian foreign ministry said today.

The ministry said Kuala Lumpur and Singapore had submitted the joint notifications to the registrar of the ICJ in Hague over their ownership dispute.

The process before the ICJ, which would include the submission of written pleadings and finally oral hearings was expected to take about three years, it said in a statement.