THERE will be no pulling back of Malaysian vessels from disputed waters while talks are ongoing with Singapore, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He added that Malaysian vessels will remain in the areas until a solution is found for the ongoing maritime border dispute.

“The vessels are there at the moment because there has been no decision. Both Singaporean vessels and our vessels are there,” he said, according to reports.

On Thursday, Singapore said that while it was ready to hold talks with Malaysia over the border dispute, it wanted Malaysian vessels to cease intrusions and withdraw from the disputed area.

Singapore’s Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the city-state’s security agencies will continue to patrol the area, and respond to unauthorised activities on the ground.

“We will not hesitate to take firm action against intrusions and unauthorised activities in our waters to protect our territory and sovereignty,” he had said in a statement.

The dispute began when Malaysia extended the boundary limits of one of its southern ports, which Singapore said encroached into its territorial waters off Tuas.

Singapore has lodged diplomatic protests, saying the extension was done unilaterally, while Malaysia has maintained that the new lines are within its territorial waters.

Singapore also said between November 24 and December 5, Malaysian government vessels committed 14 intrusions into the area.

Singapore has also extended its own port limits.

Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah assured that Malaysia will negotiate with Singapore over the maritime boundary dispute.

He said both countries agreed on the need for negotiations and wanted to preserve their good ties.

Dr Mahathir also said today that the relationship between the two countries was good.

“We will discuss it with Singapore. We do not want to argue with Singapore.

“Sometimes, there are overlapping (boundary) claims and we can solve this with discussions,” he said after an event in Kuala Lumpur today.

Malaysia is also involved in an airspace dispute with Singapore over the republic’s decision to implement the Instrument Landing System (ILS) and ILS Approach Procedures for Seletar Airport.

Malaysia also wants to reclaim its airspace in phases, which has been managed by Singapore since 1974. – December 10, 2018.