Vivian Balakrishnan phones Malaysian counterpart, calls for maritime intrusions to cease

SINGAPORE — Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Wednesday (Dec 5) called on Putrajaya to cease its intrusions into Singapore’s territorial waters in a phone call with his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah.

In a press statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that Dr Balakrishnan had raised the issue of Malaysia’s recent purported extension of the Johor Baru port limits, which encroach into Singapore’s territorial waters off Tuas.

“Minister Balakrishnan noted that the (port limits) now extend beyond even the limits of Malaysia’s territorial sea claim in the area, as set out in Malaysia’s own 1979 map, which Singapore has never accepted,” it added.

Despite Singapore’s diplomatic protests, there had been a series of “provocative intrusions” by Malaysian government vessels into the Republic’s territorial waters, noted Dr Balakrishnan, as he “stressed the urgent need for Malaysia to cease these intrusions so as to comply with international law and to avoid escalating tensions on the ground”.

Singapore's Ministry of Transport (MOT) had on Tuesday disclosed that the Republic has lodged a strong protest with the Malaysian government over its purported move to expand its port boundaries, which violates sovereignty and international laws.

The Republic has also lodged a protest to its neighbour on the repeated intrusions by ships and vessels from Malaysia into Singapore’s territorial waters off Tuas over the past two weeks, including vessels from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Marine Department Malaysia.

MOT said that Singapore “will not hesitate to take firm action against intrusions and unauthorised activities in our waters”.

Hours before MFA’s statement on Wednesday, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad claimed that Malaysia is well within its rights to extend the Johor Baru port limits as they have not trespassed onto Singapore’s territorial waters off Tuas.

"We can measure to see if it is true or not but we had not touched their border," he said.

His remarks prompted MOT to issue a statement reiterating that Malaysia's extension of the Johor Baru port limits is a "serious violation of Singapore's sovereignty and international law".

BILATERAL TIES IN SPOTLIGHT

Ties between Singapore and Malaysia have come under the spotlight since Dr Mahathir’s return as premier following the May general election.

Weeks after he was sworn in, he said that the price of raw water Malaysia sells to Singapore under the 1962 Water Agreement is “manifestly ridiculous”, adding later that it should be increased by at least 10-fold.

Singapore has maintained that the 1962 Water Agreement is a fundamental agreement guaranteed by both governments in the 1965 Separation Agreement which was registered with the United Nations and the two countries must comply fully with all the provisions of these agreements.

Singapore added that Malaysia had lost its right to review the price of water under the 1962 Water Agreement in 1987.

The latest public exchange of words by both sides started on Tuesday, when Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that Singapore had on Dec 1 issued — without Malaysia’s consent — new Instrument Landing System (ILS) procedures for the Seletar Airport to be enforced on Jan 3.

The ILS — contained in Singapore’s Aeronautical Information Publication — provides precision lateral and vertical guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway.

As the Seletar airport is just 2km away from the Johor Baru border, Mr Loke claimed that the ILS would affect development in the Johor Baru town of Pasir Gudang.

MOT later rebutted Mr Loke’s claims, pointing out, among other things, that Singapore had shared the ILS procedures with Malaysian authorities in December last year.

Despite “repeated reminders”, MOT said that it received “no substantive response” from Malaysia until late last month.

MOT added that the ILS procedures were designed in line with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and are also aligned with “existing flight profiles into Seletar Airport, which have been used for decades”.

In his call with Mr Saifuddin, Dr Balakrishnan also referred to the discussions on airspace issues between Mr Khaw and Mr Loke, as well as Mr Loke’s public comments on the issue.

Dr Balakrishnan said that Singapore respected Malaysia’s sovereignty, and it was in the interest of both countries to ensure the safety of civil aviation over their skies.

“Minister Balakrishnan said that Singapore and Malaysia should continue to discuss these issues constructively and emphasised the importance of maintaining a good bilateral relationship between close neighbours and compliance with international law,” the MFA statement added.