I REFER to the article “Keep our backyard safe” by Wong Chun Wai (Sunday Star, Aug 16) regarding the South China Sea. He wrote: “Australia, which has no reason to be involved, has also rejected Beijing’s territorial and maritime claims, saying there is ‘no legal basis’ to several of them.”I am writing to explain why Australia does have a reason to be involved. Also like Malaysia, most of our goods move through, or over, the South China Sea;ii) Australia, in common with Malaysia, is a party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Both Australia and Malaysia reject China’s claims to “historic rights” in this area, which in 2016 were found to be inconsistent with UNCLOS, and invalid. ANDREW GOLEDZINOWSKIAustralian High Commissioner to MalaysiaKuala LumpurArticle type: metered User Type: anonymous web User Status: Campaign ID: 18 Cxense type: free User access status: 3

Source: The Star August 30, 2020 23:26 UTC