Amicable moves mark neighbors' ties

Singapore and Malaysia's move to suspend overlapping port claims is the first crucial step toward a peaceful resolution of their maritime dispute and other diplomatic sticking points between the two countries, analysts said.

"Although relations between the two countries can be fractious, they are joined at the hip," said Shahriman Lockman, senior analyst at the Kuala Lumpur-based think tank Institute of Strategic and International Studies, alluding to the shared history between the two neighboring countries.

After Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah, the two countries were suspending their extended claims of maritime boundaries made late last year.