KUCHING, April 5 — Tupong State Assemblyman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman today said that Malaysia must protect its sovereignty over the disputed waters around Luconia Shoals or what is known as Beting Patinggi Ali, which is about 80 nautical miles from Sarawak’s coastline.

He said the area is important to the Sarawak government to ensure the continuity of the oil and gas activities by the Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas).

"This must be maintained for the benefit of the nation and Sarawak,” Fazzrudin, who is also Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg’s chief political secretary, said in a statement. He was commenting on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's recent statement that Malaysia is open to holding talks with China on its oil and gas claims in the South China Sea but would not back down from its own territorial claims.

Fazzrudin said he supports the stand taken by the prime minister who is using diplomatic channels to resolve any dispute with China. "I am also confident that Malaysia through the Foreign Ministry will take constructive measures and act in the best interests of the nation,” he said.

He said since Luconia Shoals is only 80 nautical miles from the coastline of Sarawak, it is within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) parameters that extend 200 nautical miles from the country’s coastline based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. He recalled that in the past, there have been several reported encounters by Petronas operating oil and gas fields in the South China Sea within Malaysia's EEZ with Chinese vessels.

"We must guarantee the safety of our coastlines with assets being deployed regularly to monitor the situation and also with regular diplomatic channels as mentioned by the prime minister. "At the same time, we must also ensure the sovereignty of the country along with Sarawak from any outside threats,” Fazzrudin said.

In an interview with the China Daily recently, Anwar said there was no easy solution for the overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea nor the problem was not insurmountable as long as there was dialogue. He had stressed the South China Sea issues should not be "that contentious” and dialogue with other Asean countries that also stake claim in the resource-rich sea should be seen as the way to resolve the differences.

He said he was glad the Chinese leadership also agreed to take the position to engage in dialogues and create a proper understanding of the issue.