By Prashanth Parameswaran
The country’s deputy prime minister takes aim at Beijing’s actions.
On Saturday, local media outlets reported that Malaysia’s deputy prime minister had slammed China’s South China Sea behavior in a public address.
In a speech delivered to a party congress in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the Malaysian state of Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi took aim at Beijing’s questionable historical claims in the South China Sea as well as its construction of facilities on features 3,218 kilometers from the Chinese mainland and just 155 kilometers from Sabah.
“To claim this part of the South China Sea as theirs due to historical narrative is invalid,” Zahid said according to the Malaysian newspaper The Star, referring to a “regional superpower” without directly mentioning China.
“We have a country that is building 3km-long airstrips and port facilities, supposedly for its coast guard,” Zahid said. “Does this make sense when that country’s mainland is more than 3,000kms away?” he asked rhetorically.
Read the full story at The Diplomat