25 March 2016•Update: 28 March 2016
KUALA LUMPUR
A Malaysian minister has revealed that around 100 China-registered vessels were detected encroaching into the archipelago’s waters near shoals in the disputed South China Sea.
Shahidan Kassim, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) had been ordered to monitor the situation near the Luconia Shoals, known as Beting Patinggi Ali in Malaysia, local media reported Friday.
“Three MMEA vessels have been deployed to the area. The Royal Malaysian Navy assets are also there,” he said Thursday.
“A Bombardier aircraft has carried out aerial monitoring of that area and found a group of Chinese fishermen there.”
Kassim underlined that if the vessels were discovered to have entered Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone, the appropriate measures would be undertaken.
While Beijing considers most of the resource-rich South China Sea as its territory, it has overlapping claims with Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and Brunei.
The sea is a critical asset for global shipping and fishing, as it sees more than $5 trillion in maritime trade every year.
China’s reclamation work in the region, which includes the building of airfields on some of the disputed islands, has prompted the United States and its allies to express alarm over the maritime expansion, which they suspect is aimed at extending its military reach.
