[UPDATED] Asean Summit: members seek ‘resolution’ as all eyes on China’s new map

JAKARTA – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim faces a packed schedule at the 43rd Asean Summit, which starts here tomorrow as he seeks to propel Malaysia’s position in the region as well as at the global stage, especially on pressing issues such as economy and security.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir said that the prime minister is slated to participate in separate summits being held between Asean and seven dialogue partners of the regional grouping, as well as one with the United Nations (UN). 

The partners are Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, United States, and Canada.

He will also hold bilateral meetings with the heads of nine nations, the UN and the World Economic Forum.

The one summit being deeply anticipated by observers is that with China, whose delegation is led by its president Xi Jinping. This particular summit will take place on Wednesday.

China recently published the China Standard Map Edition 2023, whose boundaries encroach on Malaysia's maritime areas as well as territories of a few other countries.

Asked whether this worrying development will be brought up by Malaysia and Asean to the Chinese, Zambry emphasised on the imperativeness of diplomacy in handling such matters and seeking a resolution, together with other issues to be discussed.

“We will not be bringing up only one issue. This summit is a platform on relationships which we view in a wider context,” he said during a briefing with Malaysian journalists at the Four Seasons Hotel here today.

“...we will put forward ways to resolve (the matter) through the efforts of Asean and the relevant countries as partners of Asean.”

He said that the discussions will be based on aspects “that have been agreed upon jointly” for the member nations to achieve resolution if there is conflict.

“Certainly, there will be priority issues that will be given attention, whether it is with China or in the context of the relationship with America or Korea, and also relationships with other strategic partner nations like India, Japan and so on.”  

Pressed on whether the question of China’s new map will significantly impact the summit, he emphasised that there will be meetings held at two levels first: the senior officials’ level and the foreign ministers’ level.

Zambry explained that the senior officials will adopt an approach on the matter that is jointly agreed to after their deliberations. 

This will then be forwarded to the foreign ministers before it reaches the stage of the countries’ leaders. 

“Tomorrow, I will start (on this) with the (other) foreign ministers first during the meeting with them,” he said.

“There is a series of discussions that will take place before the (penultimate) summit.” 

“There are quite a number of issues that we have to address,” he added, stressing that they are not focussed particularly on “certain issues of the day”.

The main Asean Summit’s plenary session and retreat of leaders of member countries take place on Tuesday.

On August 30, Wisma Putra had asserted that Malaysia does not recognise China’s claims in the South China Sea, as outlined in the new map.

It noted that the map, among other things, displays China’s unilateral maritime claims that encroach upon Malaysia’s maritime areas in Sabah and Sarawak, based on the 1979 Malaysia New Map.

“Malaysia also views the South China Sea issue as a complex and sensitive matter,” it said in a statement.

Zambry had told reporters at the National Day celebration in Putrajaya on August 31 that the government will send a protest note to China over the latter’s claims regarding the South China Sea as illustrated in the map. – The Vibes, September 9, 2023