‘Not true’ that ILS procedures for Seletar Airport violate Malaysia’s sovereignty: MOT

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) has dismissed Malaysia’s suggestion that the implementation of Instrument Landing System (ILS) procedures for the northerly approach into Seletar Airport is “a clear violation of Malaysia’s sovereignty and international law and standards”.

In a media statement issued on Wednesday (Dec 12) night, the MOT said the suggestion by Malaysia was “not true”.

It added that it was “not uncommon for flight procedures to/from one state, especially those near other states, to traverse the territories of neighbouring states”. The instrument flight procedures for some Malaysian airports also extend into the territories of neighbouring states, said the ministry.

Responding to its Malaysian counterpart's statement on the ILS procedures for Seletar airport, the MOT said that “cross-border airspace management is not incompatible with sovereignty”.

In the MOT’s statement, it said that Singapore had conveyed at a Nov 29 meeting between the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and its Malaysian counterpart that Singapore will need to put in place ILS for both northerly and southerly approaches into Seletar Airport.

This is necessary because aircraft take off and land into the wind.

Given that wind directions in the region change every half a year, “flight procedures for a southerly approach cannot safely replace all flight procedures for the northerly approach,” the MOT said.

The ministry stressed that the ILS procedures for Seletar Airport were published in accordance with Singapore’s responsibilities under the relevant requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, as well as bilateral agreements with Malaysia.

The MOT added that it is “prepared to discuss Malaysia’s technical concerns in good faith”, and looks forward to receiving Malaysia’s counterproposal ahead of its meeting with them.

The MOT’s statement comes hours after Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan pointed out inaccuracies in Malaysia's understanding of how ILS works. The ILS is designed to safely guide planes approaching and landing on a runway.

Mr Khaw said earlier that if there are technical concerns, he is confident that a “mutually technically satisfactory solution can be found”, but added that Malaysia appears to be using a “technical excuse” to demand a change in airspace management.

He was responding to Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke's Facebook post put up late Tuesday evening.

The post contained a video in which Mr Loke said that the flight path used by the ILS will encroach into Malaysian airspace.