LUMUT, October 1 – Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) Defense Forces are patrolling and monitoring the country’s waters for the presence of foreign ships, including in the South China Sea.

Vice Admiral Datuk Abdul Rahman Ayob, deputy head of the NMR, said assets belonging to the NMR are being mobilized to identify the entry of foreign vessels into the country’s waters and to report and pass the information on to the parties responsible for the future actions.

“I don’t need to elaborate further (on the implementation of operations) but the RMN and the RMAF (Royal Malaysian Air Force) are monitoring, as it involves aerial surveillance and we are alerting certain neighborhoods to the presence of foreign elements (ships).

“There has been an increase in encroachment from foreign vessels since 2013, namely Chinese Coast Guard vessels, but we are monitoring the situation and it is still under control,” he said.

He said this at a press conference after an appointment and commissioning ceremony of Kapal Di Raja Panglima Garang by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah at the RMN base here today.

On September 26, several international defense portals reported that a number of Chinese Coast Guard vessels had entered Malaysia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

They included two nationwide ships with the code CCG 5202 and CCG 6307 which entered the waters of Sabah which are rich in quality gas and oil.

They were seen escorting a Chinese search and reconnaissance vessel known as Da Yang Hao which openly entered Vietnamese waters before being driven out of the land of Asean.

The vessel was reportedly detected just 50 nautical miles or 93 kilometers from the West Capella drilling vessel leased by the national oil company Petronas.

Da Yang Hao was reported to have attempted to encroach on the waters of Pulau Natuna in the South China Sea, but left in a hurry when an Indonesian navy vessel unexpectedly appeared.

He also reportedly attempted to enter Brunei waters but quickly fled when the nation of Borneo deployed its warship. – Bernama