Malaysia summons China ambassador over South China Sea vessels | Al Jazeera

Malaysia has said it has summoned China’s ambassador to protest against the “presence and activities” of Chinese vessels in Kuala Lumpur’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea off the island of Borneo.

Chinese vessels, including a survey boat, were operating off the coasts of the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak in contravention of 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late on Monday.

It did not elaborate on the number of ships involved or say when the incident took place.

“Malaysia’s consistent position and actions are based on international law, in defence of our sovereignty and sovereign rights in our waters,” the statement said. “Malaysia had also protested against the previous encroachments by other foreign vessels in our waters.”