Plan to meet Chinese envoy, Adenan on presence of China’s coast guard vessels

KLUANG: The courtesy call by China’s ambassador to Malaysia Dr Huang Huikang on Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem on a date to be fixed, is expected to resolve the issue of the presence of Chinese coast guard ships in the state’s waters.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said there must be a diplomatic solution in such a situation to avoid any unwanted incident.

“The ambassador will be calling on the Sarawak chief minister so that communication between the state and China directly will not be exploited by irresponsible groups, because I believe that military intervention is only the last resort.”

He told this to reporters after a Chinese New Year celebration for the Sembrong parliamentary constituency in Paloh, here, yesterday where Huang was present. Hishammudin, who is also Sembrong MP, said the decision taken by the Chinese ambassador and Adenan Satem and the Sarawak leadership was the best in explaining the situation.

“I have known him (Huang) for a long time and I feel there is no intention to worsen the situation but our leadership’s wisdom in handling relations with our neighbouring countries, China and even the United States, Japan and South Korea must all be taken into consideration, especially in this borderless world.” - Bernama

Hishammuddin said the country’s stand was consistent and it wanted to know the intention and purpose of the Chinese ships patrolling the Sarawak waters.

He was asked to comment on his meeting with Huang today, and whether there was an initial explanation from the latter on the presence of China’s coast guard vessels in the Gugusan Beting Patinggi Ali waters, about 84 nautical miles from the coast of Miri, Sarawak. - Bernama