The intrusion of more than 100 fishing boats and other vessels from China into Malaysian territorial waters at Beting Patinggi Ali some 84 nautical mile off the Miri coast has presented our nation with a major headache.
With depleting fish stocks and other marine resources Malaysia like other nations guards its territorial jealously and had dealt with encroaching fishing vessels sternly.
Beting Patinggi Ali or Luconia Shoals as it is internationally known is well within Malaysian territorial water but our Marine Enforcement Agency (MMEA) or even the our navy are impotent in the face of such large number of Chinese fishing boats accompanied by their navy vessels ravaging the resources of this rich but fragile fishing ground.
This has provided critics of the government ammunition to run down the nation’s navy and marine enforcement agencies and pass snide remarks about the submarines the navy acquired.
However, those who throw insults at the nation’s ability to defend our territorial waters must consider the fact that a small nation like Malaysia cannot take on the might of a super power like China in a confrontation.
The boats from China fishing with impunity at Beting Patinggi Ali are not there just to plunder the marine resources of Malaysia – they are actually a statement of intent by China on its claim over large territories of the South China Sea.
Malaysia is not the only nation standing by helplessly as the big red giant from the East lay claim on their territory.
The stand-off between China and Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia over the Spratly islands for example has been going on for years with China paying scant attention to protests from around the world as it builds artificial islands in the disputed waters.
Complicating the situation are the billions of ringgit China invested in Malaysia and its huge import of Malaysian commodities.
China literally holds Malaysia at ransom economically thus any economic sanctions or pressure would hurt Malaysia more than China.
The only avenue left is diplomacy but if China had worried about souring diplomatic relations with nations in the South China Sea it would not have so brazenly built artificial islands or encroach into their territorial waters.
Thus Malaysia like the Philippines and Vietnam is faced with the vexing problem of being hapless in the face of threats to their territorial waters.
This leads to the dangerous option of turning to US to face the situation and the possibility of a naval confrontation between the two super powers.
Let us hope that a solution could be found before the situation generates into a confrontation.
In the meantime at the rate the fishing vessels from China are ravaging the fish stocks at the Luconia shoals that fishing ground would be destroyed even as we look on helplessly – after all might is right.