Malaysia investigates leak of Chinese diplomatic note on South China Sea dispute

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The Malaysian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday called for a police investigation into a leaked diplomatic note from China on the dispute in the South China Sea.

The ministry said details of a diplomatic note from the Chinese Foreign Ministry to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing dated February 18 were published by a Philippine media outlet on August 29. While the outlet did not provide details, its statement referred to the South China Sea dispute.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer had published a diplomatic note in which Beijing reportedly demanded that Malaysia immediately cease all activities in an oil-rich sea area off the coast of the state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

The report said China accused Malaysia of encroaching on areas covered by the Ten-Dash Line, Beijing's controversial map showing its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea. The diplomatic note also expressed Beijing's displeasure over Malaysia's oil and gas exploration activities near the Luconia Reefs near Sarawak, it said.

“The ministry views with great concern the leak of this document, which is an official channel of communication between the two countries,” Malaysia's foreign ministry said in a statement. In addition to calling for a police investigation, the ministry also announced an internal investigation into the breach of intelligence protection.

Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan dispute Beijing's claims to almost all of the South China Sea. Unlike the Philippines, which has been embroiled in public disputes with China over the disputed territory, Malaysia's government prefers diplomatic channels. It rarely criticizes Beijing publicly, although Chinese coast guard vessels have entered Malaysian waters. This is partly to protect economic relations, as China has been Malaysia's main trading partner since 2009.

The ministry said Malaysia and China are committed to finding peaceful solutions without resorting to strife and violence. The two countries took over the co-chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations last month for a period of three years.