Probes ongoing into leaked diplomatic protest note from China: foreign minister

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 – Wisma Putra is still carrying out investigations into the leak of a classified diplomatic note from China to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing, which was published by a Filipino news portal in August, reported Scoop online, quoting Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan. 

Addressing the Dewan Rakyat on Monday, Mohamad said internal investigations are being carried out to identify the party which leaked the document dated February 18.   

“Documents like this should not be made public. Normally, when we (Wisma Putra) receive a document, there will be a watermark, but the one published (by the foreign media) did not have a watermark, (so) we’re not sure (where it was leaked from).   

“We will investigate whether other quarters could have leaked (the document), besides the embassy or Malaysian parties,” the minister said in response to a query from Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi (Tumpat-PN) on the status of probes into the leak.   

On August 29, the foreign portal reported that Beijing had demanded that Malaysia immediately cease activities in an oil-rich area off Sarawak waters, accusing Malaysia of encroaching into territories covered by China’s contentious nine-dash line map.   

Following the publication of the report, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it will launch an internal investigation and file a police report on the leak, stressing that it views the issue with “grave concern”.   

It also reaffirmed that both Malaysia and China are committed to resolving the South China Sea issues through peaceful consultation and dialogue without resorting to disputes or violence.