KL urges peaceful resolution to disputes over South China Sea

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysia yesterday called for disputes over the South China Sea to be resolved by peaceful means, amid a stand-off between Chinese and Malaysian vessels that a US think-tank said had been going on for months.

US and Australian warships arrived in the South China Sea earlier this week near an area where a Chinese government survey vessel, Haiyang Dizhi 8, has been operating close to a drillship under contract to Malaysian state oil company Petronas, regional security sources have said.

The stand-off is the latest development in a series of targeted harassment by Chinese vessels of drilling operations in five oil blocks off the Malaysian coast in the past year, said Mr Greg Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

Since last December, Chinese forces have been harassing supply ships servicing the West Capella, an oil exploration vessel operated by Petronas, Mr Poling added.

Last week, the Haiyang Dizhi 8, accompanied by a Chinese Coast Guard vessel, entered Malaysia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and began a survey close to where the West Capella was operating.

Yesterday, the Chinese vessel was still within Malaysia's EEZ, about 337km off Borneo, based on data from ship-tracking website Marine Traffic.

Three US warships and an Australian frigate conducted a joint exercise in the South China Sea this week, near the site of the West Capella's operations, officials and security sources have said.

The area is near waters claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia and China. China claims most of the energy-rich South China Sea through a "nine-dash line" on its maps not recognised by its neighbours.

China has denied reports of a stand-off, saying the Haiyang Dizhi 8 was carrying out normal activities.

Malaysia yesterday said it remained committed to safeguarding its interests in the South China Sea.

In his first official remarks on the stand-off, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said: "While international law guarantees the freedom of navigation, the presence of warships and vessels in the South China Sea has the potential to increase tensions that, in turn, may result in miscalculations which may affect peace, security and stability in the region."

He also said Malaysia maintained "open and continuous communication" with all relevant parties, including China and the US.

Mr Poling said Petronas may pull out of the area eventually due to the Chinese presence. Spanish energy firm Repsol halted two Vietnamese drilling projects in 2017 and 2018 following pressure from China.

The United States has called on China to stop its "bullying tactics" in the South China Sea and accused Beijing of pushing its presence in the disputed waters while other claimants are preoccupied with the coronavirus pandemic.

The Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claim to parts of the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, the Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest against China's creation of two new districts to administer islands in the disputed waterway, its top envoy said.

It also protested against China's alleged pointing of a radar gun at a Philippine navy ship in the South-east Asian nation's waters, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said on Twitter.

He did not elaborate, and said other agencies will not comment because the protests are "strictly confidential".

Vietnam last week also protested China's decision to form administrative districts in the area.

Beijing had earlier announced that the Paracel and Spratly islands, the Macclesfield Bank and their surrounding waters would be administered under two new districts of Sansha city, which China created on nearby Woody Island in 2012.

Vietnam claimed the move "seriously violated" its territorial sovereignty in the area. But China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the Spratly and Paracel islands are its "innate territories".

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE