PUTRAJAYA, Jan 9 — After over a month securing nearby ships, Malaysia Marine Department (MMD) vessel MV Polaris has left the contested waters off Johor following the completion of bilateral talks between Wisma Putra and its Singaporean counterpart.
According to sighting in the area, the buoy-laying civilian vessel has been replaced by another MMD vessel, the MV Pedoman.
Malay Mail’s check with global ship tracking website MarineTraffic confirmed MV Pedoman’s position within the waters now.
MV Polaris is currently berthed at the Tanjung Pelepas Port in Iskandar Puteri, Johor.
Yesterday, Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah met Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan in a bilateral meeting that broached, among others, the maritime border dispute.
In it, both sides agreed to establish a working group jointly headed by Wisma Putra secretary-general Datuk Seri Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob and the Permanent Secretary of Singapore’s Foreign Ministry Chee Wee Kiong.
The working group will report its findings to both foreign ministries in two months.
Last month, Malay Mail revealed that the Republic of Singapore Navy sent a patrol ship into Johor Baru’s new port limits several times, despite Putrajaya’s offer to de-escalate the standoff in the contested waters off Johor.
The sightings of the Singaporean military vessel followed Malaysia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry saying it would take measures to soothe tensions with Singapore.
In response, Singapore’s High Commission in Kuala Lumpur asserted that the republic’s security agencies have been “exercising restraint” in enforcing its territorial waters.
Malaysia had proposed to Singapore a mutual cessation in the deployment of further assets into the disputed area by December 9. The proposal was rejected by Singapore.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad insisted last month Malaysian vessels will remain in the disputed waters along the Malaysia-Singapore maritime border and will stay there until the negotiation process between the two countries is settled.
