Malaysia to Protest Against Chinese Coast Guard Vessel Invading Its Territorial Waters

Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia has finally spoken after its long time resilience about China’s aggressive behavior on South China Sea.

Malaysia said Monday it will protest what it called the intrusion of a Chinese Coast Guard ship into its waters north of Borneo, an unusually assertive step by the country amid tensions in the South China Sea.

“This is not an area with overlapping claims. In this case, we’re taking diplomatic action,” National Security Minister Shahidan Kassim said in an interview, adding that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will raise the issue directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

On June 3, Mr. Kassim posted pictures on his personal Facebook page of what he said showed a Chinese law-enforcement ship anchored at Luconia Shoals, an area of islets and reefs about 150 kilometers north of Malaysian Borneo—well inside the approximately 400-kilometer exclusive economic zone claimed by Malaysia. The shoals are about 2,000 kilometers from mainland China.

The incident angered many Malaysians and who urges the government to upgrade its Military and be more vocal on protesting against China’s incursions.

“Although China is a friend of ours, Malaysian territories are not for Chinese”, FB user commented on Bahasa.

Malaysia has been keeping low profile and avoiding any word war with China, unlike Vietnam and the Philippines, but the incident last week prompted the government to toughen its stance against China’s continues assertiveness over its territorial claims.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesmen Hong Lei said Monday he was unfamiliar with Malaysia’s claim that a Chinese ship was anchored at Luconia Shoals.

/Oto Melara/ Assisted Press

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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