New China map encroaches Malaysian territory
China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea
Malaysia’s foreign minister Zambry Abdul Kadir is preparing to send a protest note to Beijing over its new ‘standard map’ just published earlier this week. China’s Ministry of Natural Resources issued the map on Monday.
The new map features a “10-dash” line, with an additional dash to the east of Taiwan. This is a change from the usual nine-dash line Beijing has been using in recent years to stake its claims over the South China Sea.
Malaysia does not recognize China’s 2023 standard map, which outlines portions of Malaysian waters near Sabah and Sarawak as belonging to China. On Wednesday, Beijing reportedly published its official standard map of China for 2023, which also included parts of India as coming under China. Maritime areas within Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone near Sabah and Sarawak were included, as well as areas belonging to Brunei, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The foreign ministry has reiterated its commitment to working with all parties to holistically and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei have overlapping claims in parts of the South China Sea.
A Wisma Putra spokesman said, “Malaysia is also committed to an effective and substantive process of negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, and for it to be finalized as soon as possible.” Malaysia remains consistent in rejecting any claim on the nation’s maritime areas, based on the 1979 map of Malaysia. The statement went on to say, “Malaysia is not bound to China’s 2023 standard map in any way,”
The new ‘standard map’ released by China has also angered India, which says Beijing has claimed parts of Arunachal Pradesh State in the northeast and Aksai Chin corridor in the northwest.
This falls flat in the Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s face, who said after his visit to China earlier this year that disputes between China and Malaysia must be ‘handled peacefully and rationally through dialogue’.
The map's release comes just ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping's summit in Indonesia from Sept 5-7 and the Group of 20 (G20) Summit from Sept 9-10 in India, where Chinese leaders are expected to attend.
This will be Anwar’s first real test in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, since he became the Malaysian prime minister last November.
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The Chinese have this belief that the world belongs to them. Regardles of their achievements in all other areas of human endevour, their territorial claiims beggars belief. Even though people like professor Mabhubani of Singapore continues to espouse his ridiculous theory of China and its people being a peaceful nation that never attacked or conquereed any other nation, the evidence proves otherwise. Vietnam 1979, Cambodia via its proxy the Khemer Rouge in and around the same time, India 5 times since 1962, Tibet, Xinjiang and Mongolia.
A jaundiced complexion of skin and narrow eyes do not make anyone Chinese. And certainly Northern India, Xinjiang (a Turkic people in every respect) is not China either.
Today China releases maps that defy international law and in fact foreshadows claim to these areas including parts of Malaysia which Malaysia will need to defend militarily in the near future.
Malaysia will need to stand by those countries defending similar territorial claims by China which are illegtimate claims or face its battles against China alone. The US, Europe, Australia and other Western powers will ditch them when the Chinese arrive to assert their claims physically.
History demonstrates this last point clearly to be true. What Malaysia lacks is a statesman. It instead suffers from a congaline of wannabes who are helping to weaken the country aided by incompetent lawyers, legislators and judges.
The Chinese has had their coastguard vessel parked near Miri in Sarawak for a good many years now. We could have driven that away and even started a war with the Chinese ages ago.
And why didn't we?
We still have those dud submarines, and now Admiral Sanusi. There's still time to fight the good fight, Anwar should turn to his Yank neocon friends send us all the help we need, we've already forgotten the famous retreat from Afghanistan. But doing a "Ukraine" should be profitable enterprise.
Oh! I've almost forgotten, those naughty Sulu warriors and Anwar's buddies with their limited firearms and little canoes invading Sabah was more than a handful for us!
Yes, come on, men - chaaarge..!