VIENTIANE: As Asean takes the lead in facilitating a lasting and peaceful resolution to the Myanmar issue, Malaysia has urged the international community to move beyond rhetoric and take a more proactive role in supporting the bloc’s initiatives.
Making the call at the 19th East Asia Summit (EAS) here on Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said, these include providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar.
"All members of Asean are deeply invested to see that this region is free from conflicts and other tensions which would impede the cause of peace and stability, not the least of which being conflicts stemming from big power rivalry," he said.
His talking points were made available to the media by the Prime Minister's Office.
The East Asia Summit comprises 18 participating countries, including 10 Asean member states, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the United States.
Anwar further called on all parties to adopt a collaborative approach in matters of dispute resolution, in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS).
On Gaza, he said Malaysia urged the international community to call for an end to the continued violation of international law with impunity, and the utter disregard of human rights being committed by the perpetrators of genocide.
At the same time, he said the summit cannot ignore the devastating impact of the conflict in Ukraine.
"Malaysia opposes any acts of violence and violations of territorial integrity and sovereignty. Malaysia urges all parties to work towards a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy in line with international law and the United Nations (UN) Charter," he added.
The Prime Minister said Malaysia also urged Asean's dialogue partners to work with the regional bloc in constructively promoting their commonalities and to implement the new EAS Plan of Action (POA) 2024-2028.
"As Chair of Asean (next year), Malaysia intends to reinstitute the practice of adopting and executing thematic concept papers to implement the said plan," he said.
The POA was intended to ensure practical coordination, cooperation, and implementation of the EAS leaders’ statements, declarations, decisions, and initiatives.
The 19th EAS was held as part of the 44th and 45th Asean Summits and Related Summits which took place from Oct 9 through today.
During the closing ceremony today, Laos as the current Chair of Asean will symbolically hand over the Asean Chairmanship to Malaysia, marking the beginning of its term as Asean Chair, effective Jan 1, 2025. - Bernama
