KUALA LUMPUR: On Wednesday, September 4, Malaysia’s foreign ministry announced that it would initiate an internal inquiry and file a police report regarding the disclosure of a classified diplomatic note that China’s foreign ministry had sent to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing back in February.
The ministry stated that the note was published in an article by a Philippine media outlet on August 29, but it did not elaborate on what was written.On that date, the Philippine news outlet The Inquirer revealed that China claimed Kuala Lumpur’s oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea violated Chinese sovereignty in a two-page document it sent to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing in February.
Based on historical maps, China claims almost the whole South China Sea as its territory, including portions of the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. This has complicated those nations’ attempts to explore for energy.
Malaysia’s foreign ministry said, “The ministry views the leak of this document, which constitutes an official communication channel between the two countries, with grave concern.”
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