PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia had expected China to protest against it filing a submission with the United Nations last month seeking to establish the limits of Malaysia's continental shelf in the northern part of the disputed South China Sea.
Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said Malaysia has been firm with its demand which was made on Dec 12.
"The protest by China is normal but we will be consistent with our demand.
"We are not daunted. We will keep pushing until the level of arbitral proceedings," he said today during the announcement of the ministry's achievement last year and the target for this year.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, any country can claim exclusive economic zone up to 200 nautical miles from their shoreline.
China, however, claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than RM13.95 trillion (US$3.4 trillion) worth of goods are transported every year.
As a result, Malaysia said in its submission dated Dec 12 that there were areas of potential overlapping claims beyond its own exclusive economic zone.
China, however, said Malaysia's submission had "seriously infringed on China’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the South China Sea", the South China Morning Post had reported.
Meanwhile on the ministry's target for this year, Saifuddin said the government would reopen the Embassy of Malaysia in Pyongyang, following the improved bilateral relations between Malaysia and North Korea.
"We hope to reopen in the first quarter of this year. Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Marzuki Yahya will be heading to Pyongyang for that purpose," he said.
"Apart from that, our target is to work with Election Commission on reforms on election systems in overseas.
"Further details on how Malaysians can register and apply to vote in overseas will be announced once finalised."
