Singapore and Malaysia dispute over airspace and territorial waters

Singapore protests against move to extend Johor Baru port limits as Malaysia seeks to retake control of airspace
By Zakir Hussain, News Editor, The Straits Times, 5 Dec 2018

Singapore-Malaysia ties took a sudden turn on two fronts yesterday, as simmering disputes over airspace and territorial waters came into the open.

Singapore said it had lodged a strong protest with Kuala Lumpur over its move to extend the Johor Baru port limits to encroach into the Republic's territorial waters off Tuas.

The Republic added that it would not hesitate to take firm action against intrusions and unauthorised activities in its waters.

"Singapore has protested the unauthorised movements of, and purported assertions of sovereignty by, these vessels, which are inconsistent with international law," it said.

"The Republic of Singapore Navy and the Police Coast Guard are safeguarding the sovereignty of Singapore territorial waters and enforcing the security of these waters on a 24/7 basis," it added.

Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the Malaysian actions "are clearly a violation of our sovereignty and international law".



The maritime clash surfaced just hours after Malaysia's Transport Minister said Kuala Lumpur planned to retake charge of managing airspace over south Johor that had long been delegated to the Republic, drawing a swift response from his Singapore counterpart.

"It is not our stance to take a confrontational approach," said Mr Anthony Loke. "But this involves our sovereignty, which the Malaysian government will defend in the strongest terms."



This drew a swift response from Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who said: "Airspace management has nothing to do with sovereignty, and many countries have their airspace, or at least part of (it), managed by other countries."

Rather, it was about safety and efficiency, he added.

On the maritime front, Singapore's Ministry of Transport said Malaysia announced the change to Johor Baru port limits in a notice in the Federal Government Gazette on Oct 25. Over the past two weeks, vessels from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Marine Department Malaysia have also repeatedly intruded into these territorial waters, the ministry added.

Malaysia also issued a port circular on Nov 11 and a notice to mariners on Nov 22 on the limits.



Singapore responded by lodging a strong protest with Malaysia. It asked it to amend the notices "to reflect the sovereignty of Singapore over the waters in question, and that Malaysia refrain from taking any further unilateral action".

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore also issued a circular on Nov 30 instructing ship masters and owners of vessels to disregard Malaysia's three notices, "which impinge on Singapore's sovereignty".

The Ministry of Transport added: "Malaysia's purported extension of the Johor Baru port limits and the repeated intrusions by Malaysian government vessels into Singapore territorial waters are a serious violation of Singapore's sovereignty and international law. These actions are unconducive to good bilateral relations, cause confusion for the international shipping community, and lead to increased navigational and safety risks for all parties.

"Singapore stands ready to engage with Malaysia to resolve these matters amicably, in accordance with international law," it said.



Asked if there is a concern that the issues over airspace and port limits could escalate, Mr Khaw said he hoped not. "We have so many things that we want to work together on."

As for Singapore's actions over its waters, he added: "If you intrude into our space, there will be warnings: Move on, move away... There are standard rules of engagement.

"We do not want a misunderstanding which leads to an unnecessary accident or worse, then suddenly we have a crisis to handle."

Singapore reiterates that extension of Johor Baru port limits encroaches into Singapore territorial waters
By Shannon Teoh, Malaysia Bureau Chief, The Straits Times, 5 Dec 2018

Singapore has reiterated that Malaysia's recent actions west of Tuas encroach into Singapore's territorial waters and violate the Republic's sovereignty.

Earlier on Wednesday (Dec 5), Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had claimed that the recent purported extension of the Johor Baru port limits had not "touched" Singapore's border.



A Singapore Ministry of Transport (MOT) spokesman rejected this claim, saying: "Singapore reiterates that Singapore's territorial waters do extend westward of our current port limits around Tuas."

"Accordingly, the purported extension of the Johor Bahru port limits encroaches into Singapore's territorial waters in the area and is a serious violation of Singapore's sovereignty and international law," the spokesman added.



On Tuesday, MOT had said the purported extension of port limits as well as repeated intrusions by Malaysian government vessels into Singapore territorial waters were a serious violation of Singapore's sovereignty and international law.

But in a statement on Wednesday, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that Singapore's claims were "inaccurate as the altered port limits for Johor Baru Port has not in any way encroached into any part of Singapore".

He suggested that the source of the dispute over the boundaries were a result of land reclamation. "Singapore has in recent years carried out extensive land reclamation in the area in question. It is trite law that land reclamation does not extend a state's basepoints and/or baselines," he said.



He also urged Singapore to withdraw its Nov 30 Port Marine Circular instructing ship masters and owners of vessels to disregard Malaysia's three notices, which Singapore said impinged on the Republic's sovereignty.

"Malaysia urges Singapore to immediately withdraw its Port Marine Circular issued on 30 November 2018 and prevent its enforcement agencies from further intruding into Malaysia's territorial sea and harassing vessels and persons lawfully permitted by Malaysian laws and authorities as well as international law to be present in Malaysia's territorial sea," Mr Loke said.

Singapore had said on Tuesday that it had lodged a strong protest against the Malaysian extension which began in late October. "Singapore has protested the unauthorised movements of, and purported assertions of sovereignty by these vessels, which are inconsistent with international law," it said.

Singapore's Transport Ministry has also requested that Malaysia amend its notices "to reflect the sovereignty of Singapore over the waters in question, and that Malaysia refrain from taking any further unilateral action".

Earlier on Wednesday, Tun Dr Mahathir had said that Singapore's claims of encroachment can be tested by measuring the new limits of Johor Baru's ports. "We can measure if it is true whether their border is correct and if we are still within our own waters," he said.



The two neighbours have been locked in a twin territorial dispute in recent weeks, with the disagreements becoming public on Tuesday morning when Mr Loke disclosed that Malaysia planned to reclaim airspace delegated to Singapore and that it was protesting against new flight paths from Seletar Airport as it would stunt development of the Pasir Gudang industrial district in Johor. Later that same day, Singapore's Transport Ministry revealed that it had protested against the new Johor Baru port limits.

Seletar procedures aligned with existing flight paths, says Singapore's Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan
The Straits Times, 5 Dec 2018

Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke yesterday said Kuala Lumpur objected to new flight procedures for the upgraded Seletar Airport as they would "stunt development" around the Pasir Gudang industrial district in Johor.

He told Malaysia's Parliament that these would impose height restrictions on buildings in the area and affect port activities.

In reply, Singapore's Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan told reporters that these procedures were in line with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. They were shared with Malaysia a year ago, but KL replied only recently with its concerns.



Mr Khaw said he found this "strange" - as the procedures were aligned with existing flight paths that had been used for decades.

"There have always been flights up north, so the procedures take into account existing entities in Pasir Gudang... so that you can avoid them, and so on," he added.

The Transport Ministry also said there are existing procedures and equipment to ensure shipping in the Johor Strait is not affected.

Singapore's Transport Ministry releases documents on consultations with Malaysia on proposed new flight paths over Seletar Airport
By Adrian Lim, Political Correspondent, The Straits Times, 5 Dec 2018

Singapore's Transport Ministry yesterday released documents that show consultations with Malaysia on the proposed Instrument Landing System (ILS) procedures for Seletar Airport.

Observers see Singapore-KL disputes over airspace and waters continuing for some time
By Adrian Lim, Political Correspondent and Shannon Teoh, Malaysia Bureau Chief, The Straits Times, 5 Dec 2018

The disputes between Singapore and Malaysia over airspace and territorial waters, which surfaced yesterday, are likely to continue for some time under the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, observers said.

Hours after Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced Kuala Lumpur's intention to reclaim airspace over southern Johor which had long been delegated to Singapore to manage, the Republic highlighted its concern over Kuala Lumpur extending the Johor Baru port limits to encroach on Singapore's waters.

Singapore makes its point after Malaysia says it wants to take back management of airspace over south Johor
Managing airspace not tied to sovereignty, says Khaw Boon Wan
He says there must be reasons for change, such as boosting safety and efficiency
By Adrian Lim, Political Correspondent and Shannon Teoh, Malaysia Bureau Chief, The Straits Times, 5 Dec 2018

Management of the skies has "nothing to do with sovereignty", Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said yesterday after Malaysia signalled that it wanted to reclaim its rights to run the airspace over southern Johor.

Mr Khaw said the airspace was delegated to Singapore's management under an agreement with regional states, including Malaysia, in 1973, and this was approved by an international body, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Moreover, it is not a "straightforward" decision to just alter the status quo, and under ICAO processes, there must be a reason for the change, such as improvements to safety and efficiency, Mr Khaw told reporters at Seletar Airport.

He was responding to Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke, who told the Malaysian Parliament yesterday that Malaysia intends to take back the delegated airspace over southern Johor in stages, starting next year.

The move follows Malaysia's objection to new flight procedures proposed for Seletar Airport. Mr Loke said Malaysia first informed Singapore early last month that it wants to take back the airspace in phases.



In a statement, Singapore's Ministry of Transport (MOT) replied that the Republic respects Malaysia's sovereignty, and that cross-border airspace management "is not incompatible with sovereignty".

MOT said that under the current arrangements, Singapore is responsible for putting in place the flight procedures in the delegated airspace, which include those for flights going into and out of all airports in Singapore.

In 1974, Singapore and Malaysia also inked a bilateral agreement on the arrangements that would ensure efficient air traffic flows into, out of and overflying Singapore.

"The airspace in this region is one of the most complex in the world. Air traffic growth is one of the fastest in the world. The benefits to both our economies and our people have been tremendous," said MOT.

"The current airspace arrangements have been working well and have facilitated this growth. Hence, any proposed changes will impact many stakeholders. Consultations will therefore be required to minimise the impact on airlines and passengers," MOT added.

Many countries have their airspace, or at least a part of it, managed by other countries. For example, Brunei's upper airspace is managed by Malaysia under the Kota Kinabalu Flight Information Region. Malaysia also manages Indonesian airspace in the waters around Kuching International Airport.

Malaysia has also protested against new flight procedures that will be implemented next month at Seletar Airport. "It is not our stance to take a confrontational approach with any party, much less our neighbours. But this involves our sovereignty, which the Malaysian government will defend in the strongest terms," Mr Loke said.



Mr Khaw said that these procedures, called the Instrument Landing System (ILS), are aligned with existing flight paths into Seletar, and that these flight profiles have been used for decades. They have also been designed to be in line with ICAO standards.

The ILS enables pilots to approach the airport and runway in a safer and more precise manner, through the use of instruments, rather than by sight.

The use of ILS is part of the shift of turboprop operations from Changi Airport to Seletar Airport, which Singapore informed Malaysia of four years ago.

Mr Loke told Parliament yesterday that Kuala Lumpur did not agree to the new flight paths because "they will stunt development" around the Pasir Gudang industrial district.



The new flight paths will impose height restrictions on buildings in the area, and port activities will also be affected, he said, adding that existing tall structures meant the ILS path was technically in breach of ICAO standards.

"This contradicts the principle of national sovereignty provided for under the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The Foreign Ministry will issue a protest note to Singapore immediately concerning this breach of sovereignty," he said.

Singapore's MOT said the ILS procedures were shared with the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) in December last year.

"However, despite repeated reminders, we received no substantive response from CAAM until late November 2018," MOT said.

Mr Khaw said that he found it "kind of strange" that Malaysia had concerns over the ILS. "There have always been flights up north, so the procedures take into account existing entities in Pasir Gudang," he said.

MOT also said that the new procedures "do not impose any additional impact on other airspace users as well as businesses and residents in Johor".

It said it has noted Malaysia's intent to provide air traffic services in the airspace over southern Johor.

"We need to work together to tackle our common challenges and find constructive ways to resolve our differences when interests diverge. With goodwill, a win-win outcome is possible," MOT said.

The way forward must be integration, not fragmentation
By Karamjit Kaur, Senior Aviation Correspondent, The Straits Times, 5 Dec 2018

In 1947, when the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) was set up as a United Nations arm to oversee commercial flights, one of the first things it did was to divide up the sky.

Safety was the priority, and the objective was to ensure that the moment a plane took off anywhere in the world, it would be closely watched and guided until it landed.

From the outset, one thing was made clear: While every nation had full sovereignty over its airspace, this did not necessarily mean it would manage flights in its skies.

ICAO would designate flight information regions, or FIRs, based solely on technical and safety considerations to ensure air traffic flowed smoothly and efficiently.

This would inevitably mean that FIRs would cross national airspace boundaries.

It is also the reason why there are close to 200 sovereign nations today and about half the number of FIRs.

In theory, it is a simple system that works like the popular game, pass the parcel - except that in this case, it is an aircraft that is being passed by air traffic controllers from one flight information region to another.

Operationally, the stakes are high, with more than 100,000 flights a day that carry 10 million passengers to their destinations.

Of course, a country that does not manage its own airspace, for whatever reasons, might well seek to reclaim it.

This is exactly what Malaysia has set out to do. It wants to take charge of its airspace in southern Johor, for which Singapore has been providing air traffic services as part of a deal inked between the two countries in 1974.

The big question that must be asked is why, and the answer cannot be "because it is mine".

There are procedures and processes in place to redraw FIR lines, and it is ultimately for the ICAO to decide if a country asking for its airspace to be returned is equipped to safely and efficiently handle flights in the area.

In other words, can it do a better job?



Singapore Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan stressed this point yesterday when he spoke to reporters at Seletar Airport about the ongoing discussions with Malaysia over airspace matters.

Any change must be for the better, and if there is no improvement then there is really no need for change, he said.

It is a point that has also been made previously by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (Canso) - the global voice of the companies that provide air traffic control.

According to a 2013 Canso report, "air navigation services require a global, seamless, delivery-focused model, based on performance, rather than national borders".

"For this to materialise, all stakeholders need a fully developed understanding of the meaning of national sovereignty consistent with present and future political, economic and social realities."

In its latest forecast unveiled last month, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) noted that the number of air travellers could double to 8.2 billion a year in 2037.