KUCHING: Malaysia cannot let any superpower take it for granted and intrude into its airspace or territorial waters, said Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice-president Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
He was commenting on the encroachment by 16 Chinese military aircrafts into Malaysian airspace on Monday.
“Sixteen foreign military aircrafts intruding into Malaysian airspace is something which Malaysia cannot take lightly,” he said.
He pointed out that the issue concerned a threat to the country’s sovereignty.
“China must learn to respect the sovereignty and territory of its neighbours,” said Abdul Karim.
On Monday, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) detected the 16 Chinese military aircrafts encroaching into Malaysian airspace. The aircrafts were detected flying through the Singapore Flight Information Region (FIR), before entering the Malaysian Maritime Zone (MMZ) airspace, Kota Kinabalu FIR, and then nearing about 60 nautical miles off the coast of the Sarawak region, which was feared to threaten national sovereignty.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia said the reported activities were routine flight training of the Chinese air force and did not target any country.