MALAYSIA intends to enter into an agreement with the Vietnamese government to overcome encroachment of deep-sea fishermen from the republic into the country’s territorial waters, said Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.

He said such an agreement has been signed between Malaysia and Indonesia, and that a similar agreement could also be signed with Vietnam as a follow-up to a letter of intent signed in  August last year in a bid to resolve the problem.

“We take it (encroachment) seriously because lately, there has been an increase in the number of foreign fishing boats encroaching into Malaysian waters in the east coast, with most of them from Vietnam,,” he said, adding that 141  Vietnamese fishermen were detained last year for encroaching into Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone.

He said Vietnam had given a positive response to the matter as the republic was aware of the problem.

Saifuddin, who is also Indera Mahkota MP, said this at the Balok Fisherman Integration programme in Kuantan today, which was also attended by Pahang Malaysia Fisheries Development Board (LKIM) director Rashima Baharuddin.

On efforts to bring back remaining Malaysian citizens in Hubei and Wuhan following the Covid-19 outbreak in China, he said, the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) was working to bring back about 30 Malaysian citizens.

He said the Malaysian embassy and consulate offices in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan would continue to operate as usual and look into the well-being of Malaysians there, as only certain Malaysian staff would be brought home with their spouses and children.

On the Asean-China Special Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Laos on Thursday, Saifuddin said the meeting would address the Covid-19 epidemic.

“The objective of the meeting is to strengthen Asean and China’s cooperation in addressing the Covid-19 infection.

“The meeting will also enable us to exchange notes and experiences (in addressing the outbreak of the disease) and hear briefings by the Chinese foreign minister on the latest development concerning the Covid-19 outbreak.” – Bernama, February 16, 2020.