Malaysia not afraid of China retaliation over South China Sea claim

Malaysia is pushing ahead with its claim over sections of the South China Sea.

Asked whether Malaysia feared retaliation from China, such as through tariff hikes, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah did not budge.

"If we feared that, we wouldn't have submitted our claim," he said at a press conference in Putrajaya today.

Malaysia had in December submitted a claim to the United Nations seeking clarity on the limits of its continental shelf beyond the 322 kilometres (200 nautical miles) exclusive economic zone.

There are multiple overlapping claims over the South China Sea, with Beijing staking a majority claim.

Saifuddin had previously remarked that China's nine-dash line demarcation was "ridiculous".

The minister was speaking to the media while presenting Wisma Putra's 2019 report card.

In discussing future plans for the ministry, Saifuddin said an announcement on Malaysia's raw water deal with Singapore would be made "soon".

He also said that Malaysia aims to reopen its embassy in North Korea within the first quarter of 2020, in an effort to encourage peace negotiations with South Korea.

Malaysia will also be looking to open a new mission for Palestine that would be based in Amman, Jordan.

This is as Malaysia could not open the mission at Ramallah in the West Bank.

Wisma Putra will also be rationalising its agencies abroad in a joint exercise with the Public Service Department to reduce redundancies as well as government expenditure.

Saifuddin, however, assured that there would be no layoffs, just redeployments. - Mkini