On the eve of a nationwide second full-scale lockdown, China has deliberately sent not one, not two, but sixteen Xi’an Y-20 and Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft into Malaysian air space near the East Malaysia state of Sarawak. Coincidentally, the next day (June 1), King Sultan Abdullah of Pahang conveyed greetings to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) on its 63rd anniversary.

 

The timing of the intrusion could be to send a message to Malaysia or its neighbours, or simply to humiliate an extremely weak RMAF. In reality, this is not the first time the country’s airspace has been breached. Days ago, an Israeli spy aircraft (Boeing 732-400 aircraft with the registration number 4X-AOO) had flown into Malaysian airspace before landing in Singapore.

 

Exactly why Malaysia, arguable the world’s loudest critic and protester of Israel, had allowed an enemy spy airplane equipped with electronic intelligence hardware and software to use its airspace is puzzling. To save face, the Ministry of Transport has claimed that there were no abnormal flight patterns or loitering carried out within Malaysian airspace by the spy aircraft.

Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), meanwhile, has been sending its fighter jets into Malaysian airspace for as long as one can remember. For decades, Malaysia has been accusing Singaporean warplanes of encroaching into its airspace, while Singapore continues to rubbish such intrusions. At the end of the day, with tail between legs, Malaysia will let the issue go away.

 

However, the latest breach of airspace by 16 Chinese strategic transporters, flying in an “in-trail” tactical formation at between 23,000 and 27,000 feet was too dramatic and obvious for Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to sweep under the carpet, as he would normally do. This is the first time a large number of foreign jets had flown in such a tactical formation into the country.

 

Interestingly, Senior Minister for Security cum Defence Minister “turtle egg” Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been silent despite the national security threats. The RMAF only managed to scramble some obsolete BAE Hawk 208 fighter light combat / trainer jets from the 6th squadron of its Labuan Air Base to perform visual identification of the Chinese military aircrafts.

Malaysia has about 13 British-made Hawk 208 jets, which was bought in the 1990s. In addition, the country had procured 8 Boeing F/A-18D in 1997, as well as 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKM purchased in 2003. However, over the years, several Hawks had crashed during training missions. There were also embarrassing episode of missing engines of fighter jets belonging to the RMAF.

 

It was also revealed in July 2018 that only four Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets owned by the RMAF could take to the skies because the Malaysian Air Force was unable to properly maintain the fighter jets’ airworthiness. The fact that the country could not send modern combat aircraft like Sukhoi to intimidate (or pretend to threaten) the Chinese aircrafts shows the country’s weak defence system.

 

Hishammuddin Hussein, the cousin of crooked former Prime Minister Najib Razak, said he would issue a note of diplomatic protest and ask China’s ambassador to explain the “breach of airspace and sovereignty”. He said – “Malaysia’s stand is clear – having friendly diplomatic relations with any countries does not mean that we will compromise on our national security.”

However, the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur played down the incident, saying the planes only conducted routine flight training and “strictly abided by” international law without violating airspace of other countries. Taking a page from the U.S. favourite playbook, it has even argued that Chinese military aircraft enjoyed the “freedom of over-flight in the airspace”.

 

Malaysia’s air force said its air defence radar detected the “suspicious” tactical formation at 11:53 a.m. local time on May 31 near Malaysian-administered Luconia Shoals, a rich fishing ground in the disputed South China Sea. Flying at 290 knots, the Chinese planes then approached nearly 60 nautical miles (110 kilometres) off the coast of Sarawak on Borneo island.

 

After several attempts by Malaysian air traffic controllers to contact the Chinese aircrafts failed, the RMAF was forced to scramble Hawk light combat jets. Subsequently, the planes exited the Kota Kinabalu Flight Information Region (FIR) through the Singapore FIR. Clearly, it was not only a slap in the face of Hishammuddin, but also a deliberate display of defiance and provocation by Beijing.

 

Mr Hishammuddin has nobody to blame but himself. A former defence minister (2013 – 2018), the UMNO warlord cum bully had been brandishing his “Keris” (Malay dagger) and threatened minorities Chinese and Indians. But against the powerful mainland China, he cowardly kowtows profusely, telling Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi – “You will always be my big brother“.

 

The Malaysian foreign minister’s act of cowardice, seen as an insult to Malaysia, was also deemed by China as a sign of weakness. The fool might think he could score some cheap political points by rubbing shoulders with the superpower, but his reckless and moronic action has now invited foreign power to breach the country’s sovereignty.

The People’s Liberation Army Air Force had purposely flown 16 military aircraft over Luconia Shoals and James Shoal to send a message. Even though both of these maritime features are claimed by Malaysia, and they are in its exclusive economic zone, China also claims ownership of the shoals, which are located within China’s so-called “nine-dash” line.

 

The Chinese Xi’an Y-20 and Ilyushin Il-76 military aircrafts were flown from bases in China – a message that it could perform long range military operation. The Xi’an Y-20 can be deployed to transport personnel and heavy equipment such as Type 99A tank during military assault. It can also be configured for airborne early warning and control (AEW&C), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and aerial refuelling missions.

 

Ilyushin Il-76, on the other hand, is a medium-range military transport aircraft. It can be deployed to drop paratroopers as well as medium-sized battle tanks. It was designed to be an ultra-rugged, all-purpose heavy lifter that can easily handle the worst that extreme Russian weather could throw at it. This aircraft is capable of handling a payload of more 40,000 kilograms.

Like it or not, short of a military confrontation, there’s very little Malaysia can do to retaliate. Already, there were 89 incursions made by Chinese naval forces into Malaysian waters between 2016 and 2019. Malaysia has so far filed six diplomatic protests to China, but those protests have fallen on deaf ears. Hence, if Hishammuddin thinks it would be any different this time, he should stop hallucinating.

 

Last year, the disgraced Hishammuddin lied through his teeth when he shamelessly claimed that in the 100 days since he took over the ministry, the Chinese vessels have not dared breach the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) anymore. It was later exposed that Chinese coast guard vessels had met with no resistance or protest as Beting Patinggi Ali (Luconia Shoals) was consistently breached.

 

When Petronas, Malaysian national oil and gas company, contracted the drillship West Capella in mid-April to explore an area of overlapping Malaysian and Vietnamese maritime claims, China responded by dispatching the survey vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8 along with a flotilla of coast guard and paramilitary vessels. Apparently, the area also falls within China’s nine-dash line.

To make matters worse, China is Malaysia’s second largest export market for palm oil, after India. Export revenue from palm oil and palm oil products this year is expected to increase by 2.4% to RM74 billion from RM72.30 billion recorded in 2020. China has remained as Malaysia’s largest export destination for 12 consecutive years, with exports expanding by 12.5% to RM158.6 billion last year.

 

And since “Malay First” Muhyiddin Yassin will not repatriate Indian Muslim hate preacher Zakir Naik to India, there’s more reason for the ruling Perikatan Nasional government not to offend China. A sudden plunge in prices of palm oil due to a boycott from China would mean rebellion from palm oil settlers, most of whom are ethnic Malays, the vote bank of Muhyiddin’s party Bersatu (PPBM).

 

While the latest breach of airspace and sovereignty was a deliberate attempt by Beijing to assert its nine-dash claims to control the US$3 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes annually, it was also a calculated move to not only test Malaysia’s military and diplomatic response, but also to see the reactions from Brunei, Vietnam, the Philippines and of course, the United States.

Malaysia has zero bargaining chip to retaliate against China. Will Hishammuddin threaten not to sell “Musang King Durian” to China? The fact that PM Muhyiddin, extremist PAS president Hadi Awang, former PM Najib Razak and even outspoken Mahathir Mohamad, a twice prime minister, have chosen to keep their mouth shut shows Malaysia will pretend the intrusion didn’t happen.

 

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• Disgraced Hishammuddin Lied – Too Afraid To Defend Country’s Sovereignty Against China’s Intrusion
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• Scoring Political Brownie Points – After Hishammuddin, Now Silly PAS Leaders Want To Send Troops To Palestine
• Disgraced Hishammuddin Lied – Too Afraid To Defend Country’s Sovereignty Against China’s Intrusion
• Act Of Treason – Cousin Brothers Najib & Hishammuddin Deployed Military To “Yemeni Civil War” Without Approval
• Only 4 Fighter Jets Can Fly – A Result Of Incompetency & Corruption By These 4 UMNO Leaders
• Malaysia Declares War On “Impenetrable” Israel … To Be Slaughtered Like A Pig?
• Bandar Malaysia Has Become “Bandar China” – The U.S. & Malays Conned By Najib
• Tribunal: No Basis To China’s South China Sea Claim, But Who Dares To Enforce It?
• Why China Can “Take” Any Island In South China Sea … And Get Away
• Did Najib Pawn & Drag Malaysian Soldiers Into Syrian War For RM2.6 Billion?

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June 2nd, 2021 by financetwitter

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