KUALA LUMPUR: Issues related to the South China Sea must be resolved within Asean and its partners in the region, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said extensive discussions have been held on the South China Sea, adding that all parties have agreed to formulate the related code of conduct.
"We want it to be resolved within Asean and with our partners in the region.
"The moment it seems to be imposed and dictated by outside forces, things become more problematic and tense," he said in his opening remarks at the East Asia Summit here on Monday (Oct 27).
Anwar also stressed that it was important for all parties to engage in negotiations, citing the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and the Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea.
Separately, Anwar welcomed US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza conflict, while noting that these efforts must be continued and closely monitored to ensure an inclusive peace, as well as a just and lasting political solution for Palestine.
"It is an important, critical beginning to stop the madness, genocide and atrocities," he said.
Previously, Trump presented a 20-point plan to end the conflict in Gaza, outlining a detailed framework to achieve peace in the region.
The plan also sets clear long-term goals to end all fighting and launch a deradicalisation programme across the Palestinian enclave.
On one hand, the proposal opens a pathway towards the potential establishment of a Palestinian state, a significant shift designed to achieve a lasting resolution.
However, many international political observers have described the peace plan as a façade to silence the growing global solidarity condemning the inhumane actions of the Zionist regime against the people of Gaza.
