KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has expressed outrage at China's "overt and hostile posturing" following the revelation that 16 Chinese military aircraft flew into Malaysian airspace on Monday.
He urged Malaysia's Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Wisma Putra to take stern and decisive action in accordance with international law.
"Malaysia must now be serious about protecting Sabah's sovereignty over the South China Sea and ownership of its resources therein.
"I welcome the foreign minister's prompt action in summoning the Chinese ambassador to explain the blatantly hostile acts of the Chinese jets in attempting to assert Chinese sovereignty over an area of the Spratlys that belongs to Malaysia," he said in a statement today.
Jeffrey said Malaysia has so far adopted a strategy of quiet diplomacy with China in response to the latter's claims over the whole of the Spratly Islands.
However, he said the incident, which involved aircraft from China's People's Liberation Army-Air Force (PLAAF) and interception by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), gave Sabah a "pause for concern".
"China is clearly testing its limits and the seriousness with which Sabah asserts sovereignty over parts of the South China Sea," he said.
Jeffrey said Malaysia and Sabah's South China Sea claim over five atolls in the Spratly Islands is by virtue of its Continental Shelf.
On the other hand, China claims the same atolls by virtue of its disputed and unlawful Nine-Dash line, which spans more than 80 per cent of the South China Sea, he said.
He said according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Nine-Dash Line is not recognised in international law.
The U-shaped line appears in Chinese maps to illustrate that a large portion of the South China Sea – believed to be rich in resources – is part of its territory.
"The five atolls claimed by Malaysia are well within Malaysia's Exclusive Economic Zone as defined by the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea," said Jeffrey.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said Wisma Putra would issue a diplomatic note of protest and summon China's ambassador to Malaysia over the incident.
This came after a statement issued by Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) chief General Tan Sri Ackbal Abdul Samad, who revealed that RMAF had detected and intercepted the 16 aircraft which entered Malaysian airspace at 11.53am Monday.
However, a spokesman from the Chinese embassy in Malaysia responded to this by saying the 16 aircraft were on routine flight training and had adhered to relevant international laws.