馬來西亞稱16架中國軍用飛機威脅其主權

Recently Associated Press on-line reported the following:

Malaysia says 16 Chinese military jets threatened its sovereignty

Tue., June 1, 2021, 6:57 a.m.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia's air force said Tuesday that 16 Chinese military jets flew in a tactical formation over the South China Sea and nearly infringed on the country's airspace, calling it a threat to Malaysia's sovereignty.

The air force said its radar picked up the jets flying in an “in-trail” formation near Malaysian airspace in eastern Sarawak state on Borneo on Monday.

It said the jets then headed near Malaysian-administered Luconia Shoals, a rich fishing ground in the disputed South China Sea before moving nearly 60 nautical miles (110 kilometers) off the coast of Sarawak. After attempts to engage the jets failed, the air force said it sent planes to identify them.

It found the planes were Ilyushin il-76 and Xian Y-20 strategic transporters flying at altitudes between 23,000 and 27,000 feet.

The air force said it reported the flights to the Foreign Ministry.

“This incident is a serious threat to national sovereignty and flight safety due to the air traffic density over the airways,” it said in a statement.

Foreign Ministry and Chinese Embassy officials couldn't be reached immediately for comment.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have overlapping claims. Tensions have ramped up since China began a massive land reclamation program in 2013.

The strategically important area has some of the world’s busiest sea lanes and is also rich in fisheries and may hold underground oil and natural gas reserves.

Malaysia says Chinese coast guard and navy ships intruded into its waters in the South China Sea 89 times between 2016 and 2019. Malaysia has sent six diplomatic protests to China, including one in 2017 in response to a Chinese note asserting its claim to the South Luconia Shoals.

Translation

馬來西亞, 吉隆坡（美聯社）—— 馬來西亞空軍周二表示，有 16 架中國軍用飛機以戰術編隊飛行在南海上空，幾乎侵犯了該國領空，稱其為對馬來西亞主權的威脅。

空軍表示，其雷達週一在婆羅洲東部沙撈越州的馬來西亞領空附近發現了以“跟踪”編隊飛行的噴射式飛機。

它說，這些噴噴射式飛機隨後前往馬來西亞管理的盧科尼亞淺灘(Luconia Shoals)附近，這是有爭議的南中國海的一個豐富的漁場，然後在離開砂勞越(Sarawak) 到離海岸附近 60 海里（110 公里）的地方。空軍表示在嘗試挑戰噴射式飛機失敗後，已派飛機去識別它們。

它發現這些飛機是 伊留申 IL-76 和西安 Y-20 戰略運輸機，飛行高度在 23,000 到 27,000 英尺之間。

空軍表示已向外交部報告了這些飛機。

它在一份聲明中說：“由於航線上的空中交通密度，這事件對國家主權和飛行安全構成了嚴重威脅。”

無法立即聯繫到外交部和中國大使館官員置評。

中國聲稱擁有幾乎整個南海主權。文萊、馬來西亞、菲律賓、台灣和越南也有重疊的主張。自中國於 2013 年開始大規模的填海造地計劃以來，緊張局勢加劇。

這個具有重要戰略意義的地區擁有一些世界上最繁忙的海道，豐富漁業資源，又有可能擁有地下石油和天然氣儲量。

馬來西亞表示，2016 年至 2019 年期間，中國海警和海軍艦艇 89 次侵入其南海水域。馬來西亞已向中國發出六次外交抗議，其中一次是在 2017 年回應中國聲稱對南盧科尼亞淺灘(South Luconia Shoals) 擁有主權的照會。

              So, it is not the first time for China to intrude into the Malaysia territories. Malaysia says that Chinese coast guard and navy ships had intruded into its waters in the South China Sea 89 times between 2016 and 2019. Like Vietnam and the Philippines, Malaysia worries about the national security threats from China.

Note: An “in-trail” formation in flying is that an aircraft flies directly under and behind the leader.