Enough assets to monitor Beting Patinggi Ali: Defence minister
25 Jan 2023 05:50pm
Defense Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan visited Satu Anggota Satu Rumah (Sasar) sales gallery - Bernama Pix
Its minister, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, said the move was aimed at monitoring the presence of China's Coast Guard ships in Malaysian waters that are rich in oil and gas resources.
"I don't use the word intrusion because this is a disputed area.
"More than enough assets (to be deployed there)," he said in a press conference during a visit to the 'Satu Anggota, Satu Rumah' (SASaR) sales gallery on Wednesday.
He commented on media reports that the Royal Malaysian Navy's (RLDM) Kedah-class patrol vessel, KD Kelantan (PV175) was currently in the waters around Beting Patinggi Ali to monitor the presence of Chinese coast guard vessels.
Based on Twitter account owner, Ray Powell @GordianKnotRay, the TLDM patrol ship arrived in the waters around Beting Patinggi Ali on Tuesday to monitor the Chinese coast guard ship, CCG 5303.
He said the Chinese coast guard vessel has been in the waters of Beting Patinggi Ali since Jan 12 to disrupt the gas and oil exploration work being carried out by several companies in the area.
Mohamad explained further that the monitoring activities were currently carried out by the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) which comprise the Armed Forces, Navy, and Air Force.
"All three divisions of the armed forces are monitoring the situation. We have also put our assets there so that it does not become a 'doctrine of estoppel' where there is no claimant.
"When we put our assets there, they become property rights; that's why we put our assets there.
"This is the overlapping area. Everyone is claiming the area. We will too, by having our assets there," he said.
Beting Patinggi Ali, also known as Luconia Shoals, is one of the largest reef complexes in the South China Sea.
It was previously reported that authorities had previously confirmed that the China Coast Guard has had a vessel anchored in the area since 2013.
In July 2020, the government asserted its position to reject China's claims in those waters through a letter from the Malaysian delegation to the United Nations (UN).
