Singapore denied yesterday claims that it had illegally encroached Malaysian airspace 2,508 times since 2008.
The Singapore Straits Times quoted Colonel Desmond Tan, a spokesman for the Singapore Ministry of Defence, as saying that Singapore has refuted Malaysia’s allegations via diplomatic notes.
“Either there was no Singapore government aircraft flying in the area at the time of the alleged violations, or they were Singapore government aircraft operating either within Singapore airspace or exercising the right of transit passage in the Singapore Strait,” he said.
In a written reply to Khairy Jamaluddin (Rembau-Umno), Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi provided a breakdown of the 2,508 airspace violations: In 2008, 985 Singaporean military aircrafts were detected in Malaysian airspace with an average of 164 incidents a month. In 2009, 1,286 Singaporean military aircrafts were detected, amounting to 107 incidents a month. Last year, 218 aircrafts were detected with 18 incidents a month.
From January to May 2011, 19 aircrafts were detected in Malaysian airspace with an average of four incidents a month.
Ahmad Zahid said a diplomatic protest note was sent to Singapore over each incursion.
“Every movement of the Singapore air force that is of concern is monitored using the equipment of the Malaysian Armed Forces and Malaysian Civil Aviation Department,” he said.
The use of Malaysian airspace by Singapore’s aircraft ranks highly among the outstanding bilateral issues between Malaysia and Singapore.
