Asean wants self-restraint in South China Sea: Najib
ASEAN wants continued selfrestraint in the South China Sea to avoid any potential action which could escalate tension in the area claimed by four ASEAN members, China and Taiwan.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said ASEAN leaders agreed that any use of threat or force should be avoided during the working dinner with President Barack Obama on Monday.
"Malaysia is committed that this issue must be resolved through negotiation and any resolution must be based on international laws including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," he told the Malaysian media.
The summit is hosted by Obama following the elevation of relations between the US and ASEAN to strategic partnership last year.
Najib said calls for peaceful resolution were not directed towards China, adding that everyone at the meeting recognised the importance of China.
"We want the economy of China to continue to grow and have productive relations with ASEAN, the United States and the rest of the world."
The Prime Minister also said leaders at the summit agreed that freedom of navigation should be respected and believed the countries concerned should not exacerbate tension in the area.
Najib reiterated the ASEAN communique adopted at the ASEAN Kuala Lumpur summit last year, which had expressed concerns on the increased presence of military assets and the possibility of further militarisation of outposts in the South China Sea.
Four ASEAN countries - Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam - are claimants to the resource-rich area, along with China, which has been rather aggressive with its reclamation work that saw the construction of airstrips big enough for military planes to land, in an effort to establish a de facto 12-mile territorial zone.
The US navy conducted freedom of navigation operations in the area last year, much to the chagrin of Beijing.
