China should not take any cues from Russia's invasion of Ukraine to attempt further advances in the disputed South China Sea, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob stressed in an exclusive interview.

"We hope China doesn't take advantage of what is happening between Russia and Ukraine," Ismail Sabri told Nikkei in his first interview with international media since he became prime minister last August. "Not only China but all other major powers should not take advantage in the South China Sea."

Although Ismail Sabri said Malaysia has not recently seen major intrusions in the waterway by the Chinese military, he stressed that the South China Sea must remain peaceful and that all parties should respect freedom of navigation.

Last October, the Malaysian foreign ministry summoned China's ambassador in Kuala Lumpur over the presence of Chinese vessels, including a survey ship, in Malaysia's exclusive economic zone off the coast of its Bornean states. At the time, the ministry said the ships not only failed to respect Malaysia's sovereign rights and domestic laws but also breached the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The South China Sea is a critical channel for maritime trade, global shipping and fishing. Among Southeast Asian states, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines all have disputes over the channel with China, which claims most of it. International bodies insist the sea belongs to multiple claimants and that a code of conduct is needed to ensure peace and stability.

Philippine president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday said he would fight for his country's territorial rights in the South China Sea. This would be based on a 2016 decision by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, which ruled that China's historical claim to most of the South China Sea is without basis.

"We have a very important ruling in our favor and we will use it to continue to assert our territorial rights," Marcos was quoted as saying. "It is not a claim. It is already our territorial right."

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri cautioned that AUKUS -- the trilateral security pact between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. -- risks escalating a regional arms race.

"That is worrying Malaysia," he said, emphasizing that his government rejects any alliances that share nuclear weapons or related technology.

"Although AUKUS is not about nuclear power per se, but on nuclear-powered submarines, we are worried if some other major economies take advantage of AUKUS," he said. "For example, if China wants to help North Korea purchase nuclear-powered submarines, we can't say no because AUKUS has set a precedent."

Earlier during a keynote speech at Nikkei's Future of Asia conference, Ismail Sabri warned that supply chain problems as a result of the Ukraine war and U.S.-China tensions are causing "negative ripple effects," urging countries to step up economic cooperation.

He stressed that the conflict in Europe is putting pressure on the global food supply, posing a threat, especially to developing nations. "While big companies and large powers are concerned about the supply of semiconductors," he said, this is not the case "for the general people who are suffering" from rising costs and shortages of food and commodities "because of the lack of options."

In the interview, he stressed that "the war in totality doesn't benefit anyone or any country."

"Although the war is in Ukraine, far from Malaysia, the victims are not only the Ukrainian people. Malaysia, which is not involved, is still affected economically," he said.

At the same time, Ismail Sabri argued that war cannot be stopped by more war, while calling for reform at the United Nations.

"Supplying weapons to Ukraine to continue the war will not solve anything but worsen the existing conditions," he said. "This is not good for the world."

The U.N. should play a greater role, he continued. "But I assume the U.N.'s powers are limited as long as the big powers have the veto rights to stop all efforts made to achieve a cease-fire and peace."

"We have been fighting for institutional reforms in the U.N. for a long time," he said. "If they want to be a body which can represent all countries in the world, veto rights should be abolished."

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Internatio...ea-Malaysia-PM2

u mulut tak buka
tarak orang cakap lu bodo

I wanna say inkambing wumaos but wow wumaos are fast

Is he speaking BM?

I hope people will read the whole thing before make comment

Why bukak mulut and make yourself sounds Bodo?

... outpost the shit off shoals at Sarawak shore first

Look at Bong Bong Marcos statement as well,this one sounds like a continuation of the late Aquino Jr. 2016 policy in SCS.

Don't worry, nobody there will understand his speech. Irrespective of whether it is presented in BM or English.

even a bodo pm know komunis is a invader

Agreed. Jangan makan tulur penyu!!!!

wumaos, repeat after me

XiaoDiZaoFanLe
小弟造反了

Soalan penting: ada aku kesal apa pendapat anda?
Negara lemah tiada pengaruh.

Dr M 90s MY is little tiger. Now?

Race supremacist talk about reform
Talk against veto
Pure irony

What tiger? Rubbish tiger with tiny foreign reserves when 1997-98 crisis comes, stop listening to the rubbish Old Snake 1990s tiger craps.

Wow. Even Philipines under Marcoss Jr is more forceful against RedChina

Armed with legitimacy from World Court decision, they have the legal and moral high ground

Malaysia is still wishy-washy by saying "all sides" but we all know who is the barbarian invader . Babi RedChina

+1

oren oren

kum invade and make us tongshan rule again owai

On contrart i wish for greater China presence in SEA seas.