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[UPDATED] Anwar: South China Sea issues can be resolved without conflict

BEIJING: There shouldn't be a need for conflict to resolve the South China Sea issues with China, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said Malaysia's stance has always been clear in the South China Sea dispute.

"If there are any issues, we discuss them bilaterally or multilaterally, but we also use Asean as a mechanism.

"There should not necessarily be any conflict (in resolving the matter)," he told the Malaysian media on his final day in China, addressing concerns about regional tensions.

Present at the press conference were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, and Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.

Anwar previously said Asean countries 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 that such narratives were the work of "Western capitalists".

Last month, Mohamad said Malaysia, together with Asean countries, is negotiating a Code of Conduct framework with China to prevent conflict in the South China Sea.

The framework aims to maintain peace, while respecting individual territorial claims.

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