China demands Malaysia ensure safety of Chinese after kidnap

KUALA LAMPUR-

China demanded that Malaysia ensures the safety of its nationals on Thursday, after armed men abducted two women, a Chinese tourist and a Philippine hotel worker, from a Malaysian diving resort on Borneo island.

The unidentified gunmen kidnapped the two women on Wednesday night from Singamata island off the coastal town of Semporna in Malaysia’s eastern state of Sabah.

Some Malaysian media reports said the 29-year old tourist was in her room when the gunmen forced her out into a waiting boat. Those reports were unclear where the hotel worker, aged 40, was when she was abducted. Other reports said both women were on a jetty when they were snatched.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular news briefing in Beijing that its consulate in Malaysian Borneo had demanded “that local police fully put into effect rescue work on the basis of guaranteeing safety and to ensure the safety of Chinese tourists there.”

“The Chinese foreign ministry will pay close attention to how the situation develops,” he added.

Malaysia’s image has been battered in China over the handling of the investigation into the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines flight with 239 people aboard, most of them Chinese nationals, on March 8.

Relations have become strained between the two countries. Chinese media has heavily criticized Malaysia’s response, and travel agents there have reported a slump in bookings to the Southeast Asian nation.

Malaysian media quoted Prime Minister Najib Razak as saying he did not rule out the possibility that the kidnapping in Sabah was an attempt to sour ties between China and Malaysia.

“There may be those who are attempting to drive a wedge between us and China,” Malaysia’s The Star newspaper quoted Najib as saying during his visit to Australia, where he was observing search operations for the airliner.