Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday that Malaysia is prepared to negotiate the South China Sea conflict with China to protect the country’s energy exploration efforts.
China claims authority over almost the entire South China Sea — a strategic waterway through which trillions of dollars in trade pass yearly — despite an international court order that China’s claim has no legal basis.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei all have covering claims in the sea, while the United States sends naval vessels through it to maintain freedom of navigation in international waters.
Anwar said the “sensitive” issue was raised at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as Malaysia’s state energy firm Petronas has its largest oil platform in the disputed area, as well as several exploration projects.
Anwar said, I said, as a small country we need the resources, (like) oil and gas, we have to continue exploration projects. He added that But if the condition is that there must be negotiations, then we are ready to negotiate, during a monthly speech to staff at the Prime Minister’s Office.
The premier did not provide other details on the discussion with Xi Jinping. While asserting their claims in the South China Sea, Chinese authorities in recent years have built up its development of artificial islands, including equipping some with military facilities and runways.
Regional nations have also accused Chinese vessels of harassing their fishing boats.
In 2021, Malaysia called China’s envoy to the Southeast Asian country in protest after Chinese vessels entered its maritime economic zone in the disputed sea. Earlier that year, it scrambled fighter jets to block 16 Chinese military aircraft that appeared off Borneo over the South China Sea.
