MMEA to request ‘diplomatic objection’ over alleged encroachment of Singapore Police Coast Guard

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Monday (21 August) reportedly said it will request a “diplomatic objection” over an incident involving a Singapore Police Coast Guard (PCG) vessel which allegedly entered Malaysian waters on 14 August and a Malaysian fishing boat, according to Bernama.

MMEA acting director-general Vice Admiral Datuk Saiful Lizan Ibrahim reportedly said a fisherman filed a police report, alleging that the PCG vessel had hit his trawl net at 0.2 nautical miles southwest of Tuas checkpoint. 

Following this, MMEA referred to the Department of Survey and Mapping of Malaysia (Jupem) and based on the New Map of Malaysia 1979, Jupem confirmed that the location of the incident occurred within Malaysian waters.

“Jupem confirmed that the location of the incident reported by the complainant is clearly in the Malaysian Territorial Waters near the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link Bridge. The location of the incident is also a usual location for local fishermen in Johor to catch fish and prawns,” Saiful was quoted as saying. 

According to Bernama, MMEA was disappointed by the actions of the PCG vessel which allegedly resulted in the fishermen to incur losses due to the damaged net. 

Saiful reportedly added that MMEA will request a diplomatic objection to prevent similar incidents from repeating in future and to maintain good relations between the two countries.

On 20 August, Singapore Police Force (SPF) refuted the allegations that its PCG boat had entered Malaysia Territorial Waters.  

The following are the facts of the incidents by SPF:

• On 14 August 2023 at 6.55am, PCG officers were patrolling Singapore Territorial Waters (STW) when they spotted a Malaysian fishing vessel in STW at the sea off Tuas. At the time, there were a few other fishing vessels in the vicinity, but they were in MTW. PCG officers engaged the fisherman on board the fishing vessel in STW and advised him to leave STW.
• After the engagement, a fishing net became entangled with the propellors of the PCG boat as the PCG boat was reversing to try to avoid entering MTW. The fishing net was subsequently damaged in the process of untangling it from the propellors.
• PCG officers were enforcing Singapore’s laws within STW.

The SPF also noted that the fisherman involved in the incident on 14 August 2023 was also involved in a previous incident in October 2022, when he was advised to leave a live firing area in STW for his own safety. 

“During the October 2022 incident, he had also falsely claimed that he was in MTW when he was in fact in STW. The SPF had similarly issued a clarification regarding his allegations,” SPF added. 

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 23 August, 2023