Sarawakians hope no more future Chinese encroachment into national airspace
KUCHING: The majority of Sarawakians would like to see China promise no more repeats of military encroachment into Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the future and that the positive and close relationship with China can be continued, said Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew. “Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) is very concerned with the issue of 16 Chinese military aircraft encroaching into Malaysian EEZ on Monday (May 31), where they flew just 60 nautical miles off the coast of Sarawak. “The majority of Sarawakians are shocked because this had never happened before,” said the SUPP secretary-general in a statement today (June 2). He said this was a very serious threat to national security that must be addressed carefully and diplomatically between the two countries. “We must remain calm and not be influenced by false news that may lead to destroying good relations between the two countries,” he stressed. He noted that Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein was seeking an explanation from the Ambassador of China to Malaysia regarding the airspace encroachment. “It is our hope that the two countries can deal with the encroachment issue amicable and swiftly,” he said. Ting pointed out that Malaysia had always been in good terms with China ever since Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein paid an official visit to China in 1974. “At that time, we were the first Asean country to establish full diplomatic relations with China,” he said. He added that since then, Malaysia had continued to have a good and close relationship – whether in trade or security in the region – with China. “(This is) an important relationship that we want to continue to maintain for the interest of both countries,” he said.
