Malaysia to adopt middle ground between superpowers, says Zambry

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will continue to adopt policies as a "middle power" in order to balance its position between global superpowers, says Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.

The Foreign Minister said that the country is situated in a strategic position, surrounded by the South China Sea and the Straits of Melaka, which requires the country to take pragmatic policies in each situation.

"We need to take the approach on how to put Malaysia as the middle power. This will be an important role for Malaysia to play in looking at all situations," he told a press conference after the second meeting of the consultative council on foreign policy at Wisma Putra headquarters here on Monday (July 17).

At the same time, Zambry said that the country's non-interference policy was also important to reflect that it is not taking sides.

"The policy is also important so we will not be seen as leaning towards the far right or far left or even taking sides with any superpowers.

"That is why each of our approaches will have a non-interference nature and have a positive impact in geopolitical areas in the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific," he said.

Other matters discussed in the meeting were global economic challenges, the projection of the global economy and the impact of the United States-China trade war on Malaysia, he said.