KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 — Petronas will continue with its exploration project in the South China Sea even though there are overlapping claims for the area with China, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said this was because Malaysia considered the area, where the exploration project was being carried out, in the country’s territorial waters.
“In any case, if China considers this to be their right, we are open for negotiations, but in the meantime, for exploration efforts, we will continue.
“I do not want to avoid negotiations because this is ASEAN’s stand. For ASEAN, all overlapping claims should be resolved through negotiations, but until now, Malaysia insists that this (exploration project) is in Malaysia’s area or territory,” he said during the Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu) who wanted to know whether the Prime Minister discussed regional security issues during his recent official visit to China, especially with the presence of the Chinese navy in the South China Sea.
