Over the past two years, Chinese vessels have been harassing civilian vessels in Malaysian oil and gas fields near Beting Patinggi Ali (Luconia Shoals), some 200km off the coast of Bintulu, Sarawak, according to Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI).

In an interview with Hong Kong's English newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP), AMTI said Chinese boats, some of them armed, were present “on a daily basis” in an attempt to scare off civilians from operating gas field development activities in the region.

“They manoeuvre dangerously and intentionally create...