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China and Malaysia, Usually Friends, Land in Another Maritime Standoff

Ralph Jennings

   TAIPEI - China and Malaysia haveentered anotherquiet but drawn-out
   standoff at sea where their sovereignty claims overlap,andeach
   sideisshowing increased resolve to stand tall against the other,
   analysts following the two countries say.

   Earlier this month, the Chinacoastguard ship 5402 stationed itself
   nearLuconiaShoals in a sea tract north of Borneo that Malaysia says
   belongs to its maritime exclusive economic zone, according to the Asian
   Maritime Transparency Initiative in Washington.

   Beijingsaysthe tract of water falls within its boundary line that
   encompasses about 90% of the South China Sea, a calculation based on
   historic usage records. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and
   Vietnam contest some or all of China's claims to the 3.5
   million-square-kilometer sea that's rich in fisheries as well as
   energy.

   On November 19,China's ship harassed a Malaysian drilling rig and
   supply ships that were operating 44 nautical miles (81.5 kilometers)
   offshore,according to the initiative, which isunder the Center for
   Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank. Malaysia
   deployed a naval vessel in response, and that vessel is shadowing the
   Chinese ship, its November 25 report says.

   Incidents of this sort are becomingcommon, scholars in Malaysia say,
   though they usually go unnoticed becausethe two governmentsmostlyget
   alongand play down disputes.

   Malaysia is keennowtotake "effective steps" in protectingitssovereignty
   claims by proving use of the sea, said OhEiSun, senior fellow with the
   Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

   Malaysia submitted documentation to the U.N. Commission on the Limits
   of the Continental Shelf in December 2019concerningplans to extend its
   rights over the South China Sea beyond 370 kilometers from itsoriginal
   boundaries.The documentation, linked to a related application that
   Malaysia and Vietnam made 10 years ago, met with opposition from
   China's U.N. mission.

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