Singapore protests ‘provocative’ visit by Johor’s chief minister to Malaysian vessel in its territorial waters

SINGAPORE – The Republic has sent a diplomatic note to Malaysia to protest against the visit by Johor’s chief minister to a vessel that intruded into the city-state’s territorial waters, calling it a “provocative act”.

On Jan 9, Mr Osman Sapian boarded the Marine Department Malaysia vessel Pedoman, which was anchored illegally in Singapore’s territorial waters off Tuas.

He later posted on Facebook photos of himself boarding the vessel and speaking to officers onboard. In his post written in Malay, he thanked the “services and sacrifices” of the officers who were “committed to secure and defend our waters”.

A spokesperson from Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Sunday (Jan 13) that the Republic had sent a diplomatic note to Malaysia on Jan 11 to “protest the unauthorised visit” by Mr Osman.

The Pedoman was among five Malaysian vessels that were in Singapore’s territorial waters a day after both countries agreed to set up a working group to look into their maritime dispute.

“Such a provocative act went against the spirit of the agreement reached a day earlier by Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and his Malaysian counterpart, Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah, to resolve bilateral issues in a calm and constructive manner.

“The intrusion by the Johor Menteri Besar created an atmosphere unconducive to hold the 14th meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM), originally scheduled on 14 January 2019, leading to Singapore’s decision to postpone the JMCIM meeting, which Malaysia had agreed to,” said the spokesperson.

MFA’s statement was in response to queries from the media about a press release issued by the Malaysian foreign affairs ministry, which stated that the country’s economic affairs minister Azmin Ali will meet Singapore ministers to discuss “other bilateral issues” following the postponement of the JMCIM meeting.

In its press release, the ministry said Mr Azmin will still meet Singapore’s National Development Minister Lawrence Wong and Foreign Affairs Minister Balakrishnan, adding that this “demonstrates that ties between the two countries remain strong.”

MFA’s spokesperson said that Singapore welcomes Mr Azmin’s “initiative to make a bilateral visit and his upcoming meetings with our ministers” on Sunday and Monday.

The foreign ministers of Singapore and Malaysia met earlier on Jan 10 to address their airspace and border disputes. Following the meeting, Malaysia suspended the permanent Restricted Area established over Pasir Gudang in Johor Baru, while Singapore shelved the implementation of the Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) at Seletar Airport for one month.

Dr Balakrishnan and Mr Saifuddin agreed that the transport ministers from both countries should meet soon for discussions on the Restricted Area and the ILS procedures to “ensure the safety and efficiency of civil aviation”.

On the maritime dispute over their port limits, the two countries agreed to set up a working group headed by Singapore’s Permanent Secretary (Foreign Affairs) Chee Wee Kiong and Malaysia’s foreign ministry secretary-general Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob.

The group will report to the countries’ foreign ministers within two months. It will also “study and discuss the legal and operational matters in order to de-escalate the situation on the ground, and provide the basis for further discussions and negotiations”, a joint statement said.