KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — The Malaysian Navy’s missile-capable warship KD Perdana has berthed at the country’s newest maritime base at Middle Rocks the stony outcrop off Johor.
The Navy has previously deployed the warship to patrol the area near Pulau Batu Putih, but this marks the first time a Malaysian vessel of its class is parked there, according to Singaporean dailies.
“Our vessel — KD Perdana — is the first Royal Malaysian Navy ship to berth at the Abu Bakar Maritime Base in Middle Rocks.
“Although it is not being permanently positioned there, it will still frequent the base and carry out patrols in the area with other vessels to ensure maritime security,” Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin told Straits Times in a phone interview yesterday.
He had tweeted his congratulations to the warship crew last Thursday, along with pictures of the berthing.
The International Court of Justice awarded Middle Rocks to Malaysia in 2008, and ruled Pulau Batu Putih — also known as Pedra Branca — to be Singapore territory; but Malaysia is challenging that last decision.
The RM61.5 million Abu Bakar Maritime Base on Middle Rocks is located about 14km off Johor’s east coast and 1km south of Pulau Batu Putih.
The maritime base is reported to be manned by 17 personnel and equipped with a 315m-long jetty, a helipad, a lighthouse and according to military magazine IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, has a communication systems mast fitted with surveillance equipment.
At its opening earlier this month, Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar wrote on his Facebook page that the maritime base — named after the first Johor sultan in the 19th century — is “aimed at safeguarding Malaysia’s sovereign territory and waters, and for conducting marine scientific research”.
