Malaysia defies China’s patrols to expand South China Sea oil, gas drilling: report

Constant pressure from Chinese vessels hasn’t deterred Malaysia’s energy exploration, an Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative report says

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An offshore drilling platform off the coast of Malaysia. The report predicted that “Beijing could ratchet up the pressure on Malaysian hydrocarbon production”. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:40pm, 2 Oct 2024

Malaysia is expanding oil and gas exploration in the disputed South China Sea despite pressure from Chinese vessels that have maintained a constant presence in waters where both sides have overlapping claims, according to a new report.

Short-range coastal tracking data show that China’s coastguard ships operated in waters claimed by Malaysia “like clockwork”, with at least one of its vessels stationed in Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone or continental shelf area nearly every day of the year, according to the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.

“Despite the CCG’s [Chinese coastguard’s] efforts, Malaysia has not only continued its existing oil and gas production but also expanded exploratory activity,” according to the report published on Tuesday. It adds that Chinese vessels spent most of their time near Luconia Shoals, a group of mostly submerged reefs 80 nautical miles (150km) northwest of Sarawak state on Borneo that sits between a number of major Malaysian oil and gas projects.

The study comes after the leak of a diplomatic letter weeks ago in which Beijing privately urged Malaysia to halt its offshore oil and gas activities near Luconia Shoals, prompting a rare public acknowledgement of the long-running dispute from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim just as his government seeks to foster deeper economic links with China.

“China is a great friend, but of course we have to operate in our waters and secure economic advantage, including drilling for oil in our territory,” he said during a visit to Russia.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. ‘We have to operate in our waters and secure economic advantage, including drilling for oil”, he said recently. Photo: AFP

Stretching from the Chinese mainland down to Malaysia and Indonesia, the South China Sea is a critical artery for global trade, including about 37 per cent of the world’s maritime crude. China has laid claim to a vast swathe of the waters, based on a vague 1940s map that has broadly been rejected by other nations and a UN tribunal.