04 October 2024
China’s recent warning to Malaysia to cease exploration activities in the South China Sea’s oil and gas fields has been disregarded.
In a letter, Beijing urged Kuala Lumpur to halt its oil and gas activities in Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone, which China disputes. Alongside rising tensions with the Philippines and Vietnam, Malaysia is now also facing increased friction as Chinese coast guard vessels maintain a constant patrol around the Luconia Shoals.
Malaysia is further straining already tense relations with China by continuing its resource extraction efforts, even as Chinese Coast Guard ships keep a constant watch in the region.
According to Bloomberg News, coastal monitoring data indicates that Chinese coast guard vessels have intensified their operations in waters claimed by Malaysia. These ships reportedly spend most of their time near the Luconia Shoals, a group of mostly submerged reefs located 80 nautical miles (150 kilometres) northwest of Sarawak, Malaysia, and close to several major Malaysian oil and gas projects.
A leaked letter from China led Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to publicly address the ongoing territorial dispute, just as his government promoted stronger economic ties with China.
“China is a great friend, but of course, we have to operate in our waters and secure economic advantage, including drilling for oil in our territory,” he said during an official visit to Russia.
Spanning from mainland China and Taiwan to Malaysia and Indonesia, the South China Sea is a vital waterway for global trade, carrying around 37 percent of the world’s maritime crude.
China claims a vast portion of these waters, based on a vague 1940s map known as the nine-dash line, a claim widely rejected by other nations and a UN tribunal.
To enforce its expansive claims, China deploys a maritime militia composed of fishing vessels and coast guard ships to dominate resource-rich waters, effectively preventing countries like the Philippines and Vietnam from accessing the valuable deposits below.
While China’s presence at Luconia Shoals is continuous, it doesn’t come close to matching the scale of activity farther north in the Spratly Islands, where Beijing has deployed dozens of coast guard and hundreds of militia ships to contest Philippine activities in disputed waters.
However, with Malaysia’s expanding drilling and a potential reduction in China-Philippine tensions, Beijing could ratchet up the pressure on Malaysian hydrocarbon production.
