South China Sea: Malaysia ‘ready to negotiate’ with Beijing over disputed waterway, PM says
- Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told reporters on Monday that his country was prepared to negotiate with Beijing over the South China Sea
- ‘If the condition’ for Malaysia to continue energy exploration projects ‘is that there must be negotiations, then we are ready to negotiate’, he said
Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, through which about US$3 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes annually. Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have some overlapping claims.
Bernama did not specify which dispute or which area of the South China Sea Anwar was referring to.
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The South China Sea dispute explained
“China is also staking claim over the area. I said as a small country that needs oil and gas resources, we have to continue, but if the condition is that there must be negotiations, then we are ready to negotiate,” Anwar said.
China has staked its claim to about 90 per cent of the South China Sea via a U-shaped “nine-dash line” on its maps that was declared invalid in 2016 by an international arbitration ruling, which Beijing does not recognise.
Efforts by other Southeast Asian countries to negotiate with China or jointly conduct energy activities have failed to make breakthroughs.
Malaysian state oil company Petronas operates several oil and gas fields in the South China Sea within its 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
Chinese vessels have in recent years passed by or lingered near Petronas operations, prompting protests from Malaysia.
