Should South China Sea be renamed? Karim weighs in

KUCHING: Should the South China Sea be renamed to avoid territorial disputes?

Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, for one, feels there is some justification to do so.

“Because, the moment you see ‘China’ down there, China claims the sea. China also claims the territory, which I don’t feel is correct,” he pointed out.

These are the seas where our great-grandfathers had made their livelihood, he said at the launching of the Pristine Sea: Bringing The Ocean Back Exhibition held at Borneo Cultures Museum on Saturday (Nov 23).

“We have got the Beting Patinggi Ali, we have got many areas down there which include the Pulau Layang-Layang, and suddenly another country is also claiming those areas.”

Beting Patinggi Ali is located 84 nautical miles (155km) from the coast of Miri and is within Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone.

Meanwhile, Pulau Layang-Layang, is an island situated 300 km north of the coast of Sabah.

Abdul Karim, who is also Asajaya assemblyman said the territorial waters of Sarawak are rich in resources as well as in marine life.

However, the Minister made it clear that he did not wish to dwell on the politics behind the issue.

Last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release said that Malaysia’s position on the South China Sea is consistent and remains unchanged.

“The Government of Malaysia is unequivocally and firmly committed to protecting Malaysia’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and interests in its maritime areas in the South China Sea, as depicted by our 1979 Map,” it said.

“Malaysia firmly holds the view that matters relating to the South China Sea must be resolved peacefully and constructively, in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS),” it added.