Malaysian vessels to remain in disputed waters as talks go on: Dr M

SINGAPORE — Malaysia will be keeping its vessels in the waters off Tuas, the country’s prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday (Dec 10), while it continues talks with Singapore over their maritime dispute.

This comes as Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the country is unable to accede to Singapore’s proposal for Malaysia to return to the pre-Oct 25 status quo, although it said that the country will take “all effective measures to de-escalate the situation on the ground”.

Dr Mahathir, speaking to reporters after a visit to an anti-corruption seminar in Kuala Lumpur, said: “At the moment, there is no decision, so the vessels are there… Malaysian vessels are there… Singapore vessel also there.”

He was responding to a question on whether the Malaysian vessels would be moved out of the area.

Dr Mahathir told reporters in Malay that Malaysia’s relations with Singapore are “good”, and that differences can be “resolved through negotiations”.

In a separate interview with Malaysian television channel RTM1, Dr Mahathir said that Malaysia does not want to go war.

"But we must admit that there’s a problem between us and it needs to be resolved amicably through negotiations," he said.

"If it can’t, then we refer it to arbitration or to the courts. This is our way. 

"What’s important, we must uphold the truth and the rule of law. If we do that, we are confident that we will win."

Separately, Malaysia's foreign affairs ministry said that it called Singapore's High Commissioner Vanu Gopala Menon on Monday to discuss the latest development.

Malaysia agreed with Singapore’s proposal to have talks in January 2019.

The Singapore Government  revealed last week that Malaysia had unilaterally extended the Johor Baru port limits on Oct 25, violating sovereignty and international laws, and it had strongly protested the purported move.

It said that ships from Malaysia, including vessels from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Marine Department Malaysia, have made 14 intrusions into Singapore’s territorial waters since Oct 25.

Singapore had  rejected a proposal by Malaysia on Friday calling on both sides to not send assets to the waters west of Tuas.

In a third-party note sent to the High Commission of Malaysia, Singapore said that it welcomed talks between both sides, but was also prepared to put the issue to third-party dispute settlement if an amicable resolution cannot be reached.