via New Straits Times, 2 June 2023: Malaysian reflection on the recent looting of the HMS Repulse and Prince of Wales, noting that the country has not ratified the 2001 Unesco Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.
But experts believe that more must be done to beef up the legal framework to protect the country’s underwater historical heritage.
Geostrategist Associate Professor Dr Azmi Hassan said Malaysia did not ratify the 2001 Unesco Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
“I believe the reason Malaysia did not ratify the convention is because the country places a low priority on protecting its underwater heritage.”
He also believed that the reluctance to ratify it was because it would require the subsequent amendment of local laws.
“The National Heritage Act 2005 mentions only the coverage of shipwrecks in Malaysian waters, which extends to 12 nautical miles from the coast.
“The loophole is that some of these wrecks, in this case, the looting of the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, took place in the country’s exclusive economic zone, which is not covered.”
Source: Shipwrecks need more protection
