China warns Malaysia to immediately cease activities in oil-rich waters off Sarawak, says report

Beijing has demanded Malaysia to immediately halt all activities in an oil-rich area off Sarawak waters, despite softer diplomatic tones from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in an attempt to soothe its giant neighbour amid overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

The demand was made in a protest note sent to the Malaysian embassy in China last week, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which also published the document.

The document accused Malaysia of encroaching on areas covered by the 10-dash line, Beijing's controversial map showing its claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea.

It also expressed Beijing's displeasure over Malaysia's oil and gas exploration activities near the Luconia Shoals, also known as Luconia Reefs.

The area is known to Malaysians as Gugusan Beting Raja Jarum, but referred by China as "Nankang Ansha" and "Beikang Ansha".

This is despite the fact that the reefs are only 100 km from Sarawak and almost 2,000 km from mainland China.

"The Chinese side, once again, urges the Malaysian side to genuinely respect the territorial sovereignty and maritime interests of China [and] immediately stop the above mentioned activity," the Inquirer quotes from the note by the Chinese foreign ministry.

MalaysiaNow has asked Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan for comment.

Malaysia and China are among seven states surrounding the South China Sea which have laid territorial claims. The others are Brunei, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

China has been flexing its military muscle in the area in a move designed to shore up its territorial claim over the entire South China Sea.

Malaysia's national oil firm Petronas operates in the exclusive economic zone as well as the Luconia Reefs, which China claims as its territory based on the so-called "nine-dash line", which it later "updated" to become the 10-dash line to claim an additional territory near Taiwan.

The nine-dash line had already been declared illegal in 2016 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

China's latest warning came less than three months after Anwar described China a "true friend" in what appeared to be an attempt to appease China's uncompromising stance on its territorial claims.

"People say, well, Malaysia is a growing economy. Don’t let China abuse its privilege and extort from the country. I said no. To the contrary, we want to benefit from one another, we want to learn from one another and we want to profit from this engagement," Anwar said during Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang’s visit on June 20.

Last year, Anwar caused outrage after he suggested that his government was prepared to negotiate China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

"I stressed... that Malaysia sees the area as Malaysian territory therefore Petronas will continue its exploration activities there," Anwar said when briefing the Dewan Rakyat on his official visit to China.

"But if China feels this is their right, Malaysia is open to negotiations."

The statement drew immediate condemnation from the opposition, with former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin saying Malaysia's territorial rights were not open to negotiation "even if it is claimed by China". 

"The prime minister's statement about Malaysia's openness to negotiate over its territorial rights has exposed it to the risk of a threat to its national sovereignty," the Perikatan Nasional chairman had said.

This was followed by Wisma Putra clarifying that Anwar's comment meant Malaysia would like all issues related to the South China Sea to be resolved peacefully.