SUNGAI DUA: Malaysia’s stand in maintaining South China Sea’s status as a free and safe zone for all the countries in the region will be personally made known to China.
Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is expected to visit China soon.
He said he had personally conveyed Malaysia’s stand to US Secretary of Defence James Mattis during the the 17th Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore in May.
“We are very clear on this. We do not want the presence of battle ships from the world’s major powers like China and US to display their military might in the South China Sea.
“We will address this amicably through negotiation with all parties concerned,” he said when met at the sidelines of the Penang Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) Hari Raya open house, here, today.
Also present was state Amanah chief Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa.
Mohamad said both the US and China warships were free to pass through Malaysian waters but should not be lingering around to show their power.
“We do not want conflict, like that in the Middle East, to be brought to South China Sea. This is what we stressed,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mohamad said apart from South China Sea, the government also viewed seriously the safety aspect in the Malaysian waters.
“There is currently no plan to deploy more assets to patrol our waters. We will make do and improve on whatever we have.
“However, if there is a serious need, we will increase the assets but it will be done according to our financial means,” he added, noting that they will first look into the costs as the government is now cutting down on its expenses.
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