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Johor port extension: Mahathir says Malaysia has not ‘touched’ Singapore’s border

SHAH ALAM — Malaysia is well within its rights to extend the Johor Baru port as it has not trespassed onto Singapore’s territorial waters off Tuas, Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said on Wednesday (Dec 5).

Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaks during the launch of Union of Pos Malaysia Uniformed Staff (UPUS) conference in Shah Alam.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaks during the launch of Union of Pos Malaysia Uniformed Staff (UPUS) conference in Shah Alam.

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SHAH ALAM — Malaysia is well within its rights to extend the Johor Bahru port as it has not trespassed onto Singapore’s territorial waters off Tuas, Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said on Wednesday (Dec 5).

His remarks prompted Singapore's Ministry of Transport (MOT) to issue a statement reiterating that Malaysia's extension of the Johor Bahru port limits is a "serious violation of Singapore's soverignty and international law".

Dr Mahathir had said the distance from the border can be measured to determine the claims made by the Singaporean government. 

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

“We are still within our own waters,” Dr Mahathir told reporters after launching the Union of Pos Malaysia Uniformed Staff (UPUS) conference. 

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Singapore's MOT said: "Singapore reiterates that Singapore’s territorial waters do extend westward of our current port limits around Tuas. Accordingly, the purported extension of the Johor Bahru port limits encroaches into Singapore’s territorial waters in the area and is a serious violation of Singapore’s sovereignty and international law.”

It was revealed on Tuesday that the Singapore Government had strongly protested Malaysia’s purported move to expand its port boundaries and said it will not hesitate to “take firm action against intrusions and unauthorised activities”.

Singapore's MOT said that ships and vessels from Malaysia have been repeatedly intruding into Singapore’s territorial waters off Tuas over the past two weeks, including vessels from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Marine Department Malaysia.

The Republic's Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan also said on Tuesday that despite raising the issue of the port limits expansion and incursions into Singapore’s territorial waters, and the airspace management involving Seletar Airport to his Malaysian counterpart, "Malaysia escalated the actions".

Malaysia unilaterally issued more documents — port circular and mariners note — to inform the shipping community about its new port boundaries, Mr Khaw added.

In response, Singapore sent a second diplomatic note, protesting the move and asking Malaysia to immediately amend its gazette to take into account the Republic’s sovereignty concerns.

The Maritime Port Authority of Singapore also issued its own port marine circular on Nov 30, "instructing ship masters and owners of vessels to disregard" Malaysia's government gazette. AGENCIES

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