Malaysia airs concern over developments in South China Sea

The Chairman of the 26th ASEAN Summit, who is also Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak delivers his opening speech to kick-start the two-day summit at the Plenary Hall of Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here today. BERNAMA (2015) COPYRIGHT RESERVED

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said on Monday that “recent developments have raised concerns about the South China Sea.”

The leader of Malaysia, this year’s chair of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), appealed to countries involved to address disputes peacefully “without increasing tensions.”

“Recent developments have raised concerns about the South China Sea – and given the importance of its sea lanes to international trade, it is natural that almost any occurrence there will attract attention,” Najib said.

Najib was referring to the disputes of some Asean-member nations with China, which has been conducting massive reclamation activities in the South China Sea.

“While we continue our engagement and cooperative relationships with countries outside Asean, we need to peacefully manage differences closer to home, including overlapping maritime claims, without increasing tensions,” he said.

He said the Asean way would be to address such problems proactively and in a “positive and constructive way.”