A Chinese Coast Guard patrol ship (left) is seen near an unidentified vessel at South China Sea, in a handout photo distributed by the Philippine Coast Guard April 15 and taken according to the source either on April 13 or 14, 2021. — Reuters pic
LUMUT, Oct 1 — The defence assets of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) are conducting patrols and monitoring the nation’s waters to identify the presence of foreign ships including in the South China Sea.
RMN deputy chief Vice Admiral Datuk Abdul Rahman Ayob said the assets belonging to RMN are mobilised to identify the entry of foreign ships into the nation’s waters and to report and channel the information to the parties responsible for further action.
“I need not elaborate further (on the implementation of the operations) but RMN together with RMAF (Royal Malaysian Air Force) are monitoring, as it involves aerial surveillance and we report to certain quarters on the presence of foreign elements (ships).
“There has been an increase in the encroachment of foreign ships since 2013, namely, coast guard ships of China but we are monitoring the situation and it is still under control,” he said.
He said this at a media conference after a naming and commissioning ceremony for Kapal Di Raja Panglima Garang by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah at the RMN Base here today.
On September 26, several international defence portals reported that a number of coast guard ships from China had intruded into the Malaysia Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
They included two ships from the country with the code CCG 5202 and CCG 6307 which entered the waters of Sabah which is rich in quality gas and oil.
They were seen escorting a Chinese research reconnaissance ship known as Da Yang Hao which had blatantly intruded into Vietnamese waters before being chased out of the Asean country.
The ship was reportedly detected only 50 nautical miles or 93 kilometres from the drilling ship West Capella leased by the national petroleum company, Petronas.
According to reports, Da Yang Hao had tried to encroach into Pulau Natuna waters in the South China Sea but hurriedly left when an Indonesian navy ship unexpectedly appeared.
It was also reported to have attempted to enter the waters of Brunei but quickly fled when the Borneo nation deployed its war ship. — Bernama