Malaysia will "issue a diplomatic note of protest" and summon the Chinese ambassador "to provide an explanation" about "a breach of the Malaysian airspace and sovereignty" by Chinese military aircraft, said Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said on Tuesday.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) earlier on Tuesday alleged that 16 Chinese airplanes had flown close to Malaysian national airspace after entering what it termed "the Malaysia Maritime Zone" of the disputed South China Sea.
The RMAF said it "confirms the detection of 16 People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft entering the Malaysia Maritime Zone (ZMM) airspace, and that they were flying close to our national airspace," the RMAF said in a statement.
The RMAF said it sent reconnaissance jets "to perform visual identification" of the Chinese planes, which it said were Russian-made Ilyushin Il-76 and China's own Xian Y-20 - "strategic transport aircraft" - which "are capable of performing a variety of missions," according to the RMAF.
Malaysia is one of six countries pushing maritime or territorial claims to the South China Sea, though, unlike Vietnam and the Philippines, Putrajaya has typically avoided public spats about the sea with China, the main claimant and Malaysia's biggest trade partner.
Hishammuddin said on Tuesday that "having friendly diplomatic relations with any countries does not mean we will compromise our national security."
Beijing's claim to around 90 per cent of the sea was dismissed by an international arbitration tribunal in 2016.
