New naval base for Sarawak amid rising South China Sea tensions

Free Malaysia Today

The defence ministry is also looking to build an air force base in the vicinity of the Bintulu airport.   Read More:   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #NavalBase #EastMalaysia #SouthChinaSea

Transcript

00:00Putrajaya is reinforcing its military protection for East Malaysia with a new naval base in

00:07Bintulu, Sarawak to address rising tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea.

00:13Set for completion by 2030, the base will enhance security for Sarawak and Sabah, which

00:18have faced frequent incursions by Chinese naval vessels into Malaysia's exclusive

00:23economic zone.

00:24This comes after reports indicated that Chinese ships patrolled Malaysian waters daily between

00:29January 1st and September 27th this year.

00:33The Bintulu base, strategically located near the Kasawari gas fields, holding an estimated

00:3890.61 billion cubic meters of natural gas, will help protect these critical resources.

00:45The base joins three others in East Malaysia, while a new air force base is also planned

00:49near Bintulu airport.

00:51These projects answer Sarawak's call to increase the military presence in Bintulu,

00:55given the state's growing importance as a natural resource hub.

00:59The Sarawak Basin holds 61 percent of Malaysia's 4.2 billion barrels of oil reserves, which

01:05have contributed over 1.2 trillion ringgit to the economy through Petronas.

01:10On top of that, about 90 percent of Petronas' liquid natural gas cargos originate from or

01:15pass through the region.

01:18With oil revenue being the source of funding for national budgets, development funds, and

01:22defense bills, it is within the nation's interest to safeguard its vital oil and gas assets.

01:29Dhanesh Rajareza, FMT News.

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