Malaysia fumes over airspace breach by China

SHANGHAI/KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will summon China’s ambassador to protest flights by 16 air force planes over the South China Sea that foreign minister Hishammuddin Hussein said were a “breach of Malaysian airspace and sovereignty”.

The “suspicious” Chinese aircraft were spotted near the east Malaysian state of Sarawak, the royal Malaysian air force said in a statement late on Tuesday.

They entered the Malaysian maritime zone and were approaching national airspace, it added.

The Ilyushin II-76 and Xi’an Y-20 jets that Malaysia’s air force says threatened its aviation safety were then identified by an interceptor aircraft after they didn’t comply with “several attempts” to direct them to air traffic control. Both planes are used for transport.

Hishammuddin said he plans to seek an explanation for the flights from Chinese diplomats. “Malaysia’s stand is clear - having friendly diplomatic relations with any countries does not mean that we will compromise our national security,” he said in a statement late on Tuesday.

China has been in touch with

Malaysian officials over the matter, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday at a press briefing in Beijing.

“China’s military was conducting routine flight exercises near the Nansha Islands, was strictly following international law and did not violate any foreign airspace,” he said.

US, China take key step to revive trade talks

The US and Chinese governments took another step towards restarting economic and trade talks, with treasury secretary Janet Yellen and vice-premier Liu He holding what they described as frank discussions in their first call.

The two sides discussed how to “support a continued strong economic recovery and the importance of cooperating on areas that are in US interests, while at the same time frankly tackling issues of concern”, according to a statement from the US treasury.

A Chinese statement carried in state media also said the two “frankly exchanged views on issues of mutual concern”.

The talk come after a “candid” first conversation between Liu and US trade representative Katherine Tai last week.