PUTRAJAYA – The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has strongly objected to the actions of the Singapore Police Coast Guard (SPCG), which was alleged to have entered Malaysian waters on August 14 and hit the trawl net of a local fishing boat.
MMEA acting director-general Datuk Saiful Lizan Ibrahim said in his police report that the fisherman stated that the SPCG boat had hit his trawl net at 0.2 nautical miles southwest of Tuas checkpoint.
He said the MMEA had referred to the Malaysian Survey and Mapping Department (Jupem) based on the New Map of Malaysia 1979, and the department had confirmed that the location of the incident was within Malaysian waters.
“The Survey and Mapping Department 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 the usual location for local fishermen in Johor to catch fish and prawns,” he said in a statement here today.
Saiful said the MMEA was disappointed by the actions of the SPCG boat, which had resulted in the fisherman incurring losses due to the damaged fishing equipment.
“The MMEA will request a diplomatic objection so that similar incidents will not be repeated in the future in order to maintain good relations between the two countries,” he added. – August 21, 2023