China encroachment: Hisham says he was referring to one incident only

Hishammuddin Hussein has clarified that when he announced that Chinese vessels had not appeared in Malaysian water during the 100 days since he became foreign minister, he was referring to one incident only.

"I spoke in the context of the reaction to West Capella activities where a Chinese survey vessel and the accompanying Chinese Coast Guard and fishing militia were present in our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from April to May.

"This was managed during my first 100 days in the ministry and those vessels left our EEZ after intensive diplomatic efforts," he said.

Speaking during his press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday, Hishammuddin (above) said the country would not compromise on its sovereignty. 

"One area I've had to work on since helming Wisma Putra was to improve Malaysia's ties with China, India, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates […] so when we talk about the South China Sea, of course, the relationship with China is important.

"The latest, in the 100 days of helming Wisma Putra, Chinese vessels have not been seen in our waters, so how did we manage this?

"This is between us and the Chinese leadership [...] my stand is very clear, we will not compromise on our sovereignty," Hishammuddin was reported saying by Bernama.

This was his response to the Auditor-General's Report Series 3 which revealed that Chinese vessels were known to have encroached Beting Patinggi Ali, known internationally as Luconia Shoals, 89 times between 2016 and 2019.

The area is well within Malaysia's internationally recognised maritime borders, just 84 nautical miles off Miri, Sarawak.

Hishammuddin's remarks yesterday earned the wrath of former foreign minister Anifah Aman who pointed out that the West Capelle incident happened in April, several weeks after the new foreign minister's appointment.

Anifah said he was appalled and that the minister was either in denial or ignorant of the fact.

He added that he also believed that Chinese coast guard vessels were in the vicinity of Beting Patinggi Ali in May, June and July.

In response to this, Hishammuddin suggested that Anifah may have issued the rebuttal without knowing that the topic was the West Capella incident.

"If he knew the context of my statement yesterday regarding West Capella activities as clarified, I am certain he would not have misunderstood and reacted the way he did," he said.

However, it was clear that Anifah was, in fact, referring to the West Capella incident.

The West Capella is a drillship contracted by Petronas and was involved in what the US called a "stand-off" with Chinese coast guard accompanied by a survey vessel and a flotilla of fishing vessels in April.

This attracted the attention of US and Australian warships conducting joint exercises nearby.

China has denied involvement in any "stand-off". The Chinese flotilla left in May, about a month after the incident.

- Mkini