Malaysian prime minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, voicing his opinion on the stand of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in ties with the United States and China, stated that they would take a neutral stance.
Both the global powers, the United States and China, are at loggerheads with each other, and both these superpowers are wooing ASEAN countries in the hope of getting their support and backing in politics and trade.
But Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stated that Malaysia and ASEAN would not get involved in the dispute between the two giant nations, neither would they take sides to show that they are impartial as a group of nations.
The United States and China have escalated tensions in the South China Sea in recent years and while China claims the whole sea and surrounding lands, the littoral states of ASEAN hold to a contrary opinion.
The United States has intervened in the matter by patrolling the South China Sea with their naval vessels and the Philippines has lodged a complaint with the International Court of Justice over China’s intrusion into their country.
Malaysia is also on tenterhooks but has been keeping mum over sightings of Chinese Coast Guard vessels in its territory and has so far downplayed the aggression of the Chinese military and disputed their territorial claims in Malaysian waters.
-THE MALAYSIA VOICE
