KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says Asean nations must unite in order to defend against Beijing's claims of sovereignty over the South China Sea.
However, the prime minister dismissed suggestions that China was "aggressive", saying such narratives were the work of "Western capitalists".
"We try and work to resolve this, through bilateral mechanisms and through multilateral and Asean mechanisms. We do discuss, we do express our concern. We do encourage our colleagues within Asean to also do likewise," he told FMT in an exclusive interview.
Anwar said all disputes could be resolved amicably, much like what is done within Asean.
"They (China) have made claims, we have made claims ourselves, what is considered to be ours," he said.
Anwar said problems between neighbours were not unusual.
"We have (problems) with Thailand, we have with Singapore, we have with Brunei, with Indonesia. But these problems do not in any way affect our strong bond, friendship and cooperation," he said.
Anwar also gave his assurances that Malaysia's recent admission as a BRICS partner country, of which China is a founding member, would not weaken the country's ability to defend against the East Asian giant's claims to Malaysian waters.
On Malaysia's chairmanship of Asean next year, the prime minister said his focus was on strengthening trade and economic collaboration among member nations, citing the Asean Power Grid as a good example.
"(The grid is a good example) because energy is a critical issue now. We have (also) agreed on the issue of digitalisation of Asean countries.
"And then, of course, intra-Asean trade should be given a priority. So, my challenge and (that of) my colleagues, is then, of course, how to effectively execute these policies into action in this one year."