KOTA KINABALU, June 2 — Following the intrusion of 16 Chinese military aircraft into Malaysia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan called upon the foreign minister and Wisma Putra to take stern and decisive action in accordance with the norms and requirements of international law.

Kitingan welcomed Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s prompt action in issuing a diplomatic note and summoning the Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia, Ouyang Yujing, to explain the airspace breach.

“Malaysia must now be serious about protecting Sabah’s sovereignty over the South China Sea and ownership of its resources therein,” he said in a statement here.

He said that Sabah was outraged by China’s overt and hostile act of flying their Chinese jets in attempting to assert Chinese sovereignty over an area of the Spratly Islands that belongs to Malaysia.

The Party Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president said Malaysia has so far adopted a strategy of quiet diplomacy with China in response to China’s claim over the whole of the Spratlys but the recent flyover was a cause 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.

Kitingan pointed out that Sabah entitles Malaysia and Sabah’s South China Sea claim over five atolls in the Spratly Islands, 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.

“According to international law — the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) — the Nine-Dash Line is not recognised in international law. 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,” he said.

The South China Sea is important to Malaysia due to its huge hydrocarbon potential as well as its strategic military position.

Malaysia has always maintained sovereignty over the Spratlys by ensuring the freedom of shipping and air routes over the South China Sea.