PUTRAJAYA - Malaysia does not recognise claims made by China regarding the South China Sea as outlined in the 2023 China Standard Map, which covers maritime areas in the nation.
The Foreign Ministry stated that Malaysia was not bound to the map.
As stated by the government regarding the South China Sea, which previously included the issue of maritime borders, Malaysia consistently rejected the sovereignty claims, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction of any foreign party over the maritime features or maritime areas of our country based on the New Malaysia Map 1979," the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ministry explained that the matter must be solved peacefully and rationally through dialogue as well as negotiations based on international laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982).
Malaysia was committed to continuing cooperation to ensure all parties implemented the South China Sea Declaration of Conduct (DOC) for stakeholders comprehensively and effectively.
The nation was committed to an effective and substantive South China Sea Code of Conduct (COC) negotiation process as well as to the goal of finalising the COC as soon as possible.
China on Tuesday released a new map that covered a large portion of Malaysian waters near Sabah and Sarawak, as well as several areas in India that were claimed to be owned by the nation.
The 2023 China Standard Map incorporated disputed areas, including its claims over Arunachal Pradesh, the Aksai Chin region, Taiwan, and the South China Sea.
This involved the Exclusive Economic Zone maritime areas near Sabah and Sarawak, Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.