KUCHING, June 3: The Sarawak government has voiced its unequivocal support for Malaysia to summon the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to explain the alleged intrusion of 16 Chinese military aircraft near the Luconia Shoals (Gugusan Beting Patinggi Ali).
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said such intrusions must not be taken lightly to prevent similar incidents from happening again in future.
“The State government unequivocally supports the steps taken by the federal government including the summoning of the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to give an explanation for the intrusion.
“It is pertinent that serious action is taken by the federal government to ensure such incidents do not reoccur in the future to protect and uphold the sovereignty, dignity and integrity of the country,” it said in a statement today.
A formation of 16 military aircraft belonging to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of the People’s Republic of China was picked up Monday (May 31) by Malaysia’s air force radar near the Luconia Shoals located nearly 110km off the coast of Sarawak.
After several failed attempts to contact the aircraft from Kota Kinabalu, the Royal Malaysian Air Force scrambled jets and identified Ilyushin Il-76 and Xian Y-20 strategic transporters flying at 23,00 and 27,000 feet — an altitude commonly used by commercial flights, according to a news report by The Washington Post.
The Chinese Embassy had defended the activity, claiming that they were carrying out routine flight training and was not targetting any country while they were exercising freedom of overflight in the area.
Considering it a serious violation of Malaysian airspace in the Malaysian Maritime Zone (MMZ), Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Tuesday (June 1) that Malaysia’s government would issue a diplomatic protest over China’s intrusion. — DayakDaily
