Malaysia Summons Chinese Envoy

Malaysia has said it will send a diplomatic protest to Beijing and summon the Chinese ambassador after the military detected 16 Chinese aircraft in its airspace off the Borneo coast, Al-Jazeera reported.

The planes of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force were tracked over Malaysia’s maritime zone by the Malaysian air force on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the ministry would issue a diplomatic note of protest to Beijing and summon the ambassador of the People’s Republic of China “to provide (an) explanation regarding this breach of the Malaysian air space and sovereignty”.

“Malaysia’s stand is clear – having friendly diplomatic relations with any countries does not mean that we will compromise our national security,” Hishammuddin said.

“This incident was a serious threat to national security and flight safety,” the air force said in a statement.

China’s embassy said earlier the planes were on routine flight training and “strictly abided by” international law without violating the airspace of other countries.

“China and Malaysia are friendly neighbours, and China is willing to continue bilateral friendly consultations with Malaysia to jointly maintain regional peace and stability,” the Reuters news agency quoted a spokesperson as saying.