Hisham: Malaysia will not compromise on South China Sea sovereignty

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will not compromise on its sovereignty in the South China Sea, says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

"My stand is clear. We will not compromise on our sovereignty," he told reporters during a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday (July 15).

He assured that the naval vessels from both China and the United States are no longer in Malaysian waters.

"It a geopolitical issue between the two superpowers of US and China. Let them sort it out," he added.

"Even if we resolve the posturing between the two superpowers, we still need to resolve the overlapping claims between neighbours," said the former defence minister.

He said that it was important for Malaysia and Asean to play an intermediary role to find an amicable solution to the issue.

"My personal fear is that could be an incident or accident that could lead to war. We have to avoid military posturing as it will not help the situation," he added.

Hishamuddin acknowledged that Malaysia had previously sent protest notes over China's encroachment of its waters.

He was asked to comment on the recent Auditor-General's Report report that China's military encroached into Sabah and Sarawak waters in the South China Sea 89 times from 2016 to 2019.