About 100 Chinese-registered boats have been detected encroaching in Malaysia's waters in the disputed South China Sea, Malaysia's state news agency reported on Friday, March 25, according to Reuters.
The reported encroachment on Thursday is the latest action by Chinese vessels to raise concern in Southeast Asia, where four countries object to China's claim to virtually the whole of the South China Sea, Reuters says.
Malaysia's national security minister Shahidan Kassim said assets from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the navy have been sent to the area near the Luconia Shoals to monitor the situation, the Bernama news agency reported. Shahidan did not specify what type of Chinese vessels had been spotted, Reuters says.
China claims most of the South China Sea through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. China's Southeast Asian neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, also claim parts of the sea, as does Taiwan. China's foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, asked about the Malaysian report at a regular briefing on Friday, said he did not "understand the details" of what the Malaysian government had said about the matter.
"What I want to point out is that now is the fishing season in the South China Sea … At this time of year, every year, Chinese trawlers are in the relevant waters carrying out normal fishing activities," Hong said, according to Reuters.
