SINGAPORE: The 14th meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia (JMCIM) scheduled for Jan 14 has been postponed, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Saturday (Jan 12).
“The intrusion by Johor Menteri Besar Dato’ Osman Sapian into Singapore Territorial Waters off Tuas on Jan 9, 2019 made the 14th JMCIM meeting untenable. Singapore therefore proposed to postpone the JMCIM meeting, and Malaysia agreed,” MFA said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Johor Chief Minister Osman Sapian made a visit to the Pedoman, which was in Singapore territorial waters. Mr Osman also posted photos on Facebook showing his visit on board the vessel.
READ: Singapore, Malaysia maritime dispute: A timeline
Malaysian government vessels have made repeated incursions into Singapore territorial waters in recent months, after Malaysia extended the Johor Bahru port limits in October, encroaching into Singapore territorial waters off Tuas.
Singapore has protested the port limit extension and the movements of the vessels. Singapore’s Transport Ministry also extended Singapore’s port limits off Tuas on Dec 6 in response.
Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan also said then that there had been as many as 14 intrusions by Malaysian vessels in the two weeks before Dec 6.
This week, tensions appeared to have eased as both countries’ foreign ministers met.
Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah said in a joint statement on Tuesday that the countries had agreed to establish a working group to study and discuss legal and operational matters relating to the maritime dispute, in order to provide a basis for further discussions and negotiations.
