THE Chinese air force was doing routine flight training on Monday when its planes flew near Malaysia but did not breach its airspace, said a spokesman from China’s embassy.

The person said that the pilots were training and were not targetting any country.

“According to international law, Chinese military aircraft enjoy freedom of overflight in the relevant airspace.

“During the training, the Chinese military aircraft strictly abided by the relevant international law and did not enter the territorial airspace of any other country,” the person said,

The spokesman said China and Malaysia were on friendly terms, and that Chinese leaders hoped to engage their neighbour in bilateral consultations to jointly maintain regional peace and stability.

Yesterday Malaysian Air Force chief General Ackbal Abdul Samad said air defence radar detected 16 People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft flying over the Malaysian Maritime Zone in Sarawak.

He said the aircraft were detected at 11.53am on May 31 by the Air Defence Centre in the state.

The Chinese fleet of 16 jets had approached Malaysian airspace in “tactical formation” and flown to within 60 nautical miles of the Sarawak coast, the RMAF said in a statement.

Following several failed attempts to contact the aircraft, the Royal Malaysian Air Force had scrambled jets to intercept them.

The event took place over fiercely contested waters, where China and Malaysia have overlapping territorial claims.

Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysia will issue a diplomatic note to China to protest the intrusion of its air force aircraft on Malaysian airspace.

He said the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia will also be summoned to explain the presence of a fleet of aircraft belonging to the PLAAF in the airspace above Sarawak .

“Malaysia’s stand is clear – having friendly diplomatic relations with any country does not mean that we will compromise our national security. Malaysia remains steadfast in defending our dignity and our sovereignty,” he said. – June 2, 2021.