KOTA TINGGI (JOHOR) - MALAYSIA sought to reaffirm its sovereignty over Middle Rocks by raising its national flag, five markers and a monument.

National Security Council secretary Muhammad Hatta Abdul Aziz said this was done by a team from the Mapping and Survey Department between June 4 and last Thursday.

'Mapping will be done by the department soon,' he said after the flag-raising ceremony on Saturday.

'After that, we might build more structures on it so that there will be no more dispute.'

Datuk Muhammad Hatta said the perimeter of Middle Rocks was about 450m, while the eastern side, where the flag was placed, was 80m by 15m.

He said the government would also start identifying and mapping all unnamed islands nationwide soon.

'According to the Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, there are an estimated 110 islands, but it could be more,' he said.

He explained that locals, especially fishermen, were still prohibited from fishing near Middle Rocks until the technical committee formed by Malaysia and Singapore sorted out some issues.

'The committee discussion is ongoing, and I cannot give a timeframe,' he said.

Meanwhile, Mapping and Survey Department principal assistant director David Chang said that the monument placed on Middle Rocks would also be used to install a global navigational satellite system.

He said that among the challenges faced during the team's work there were the high tides, which made it hard for them to go to Middle Rocks.

Personnel from the department, the National Security Council and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency as well as members of the media joined in to sing the national anthem as the Malaysian flag was raised for the first time on Middle Rocks.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK