Regarding The South China Sea Dispute With China, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim: We Are Ready To Negotiate

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. (Twitter/@anwaribrahim)

JAKARTA - Malaysia is ready to negotiate with China over a dispute in the South China Sea, the Bernama news agency reported on Monday, citing Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

China is known to claim sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which is shipping by trading worth US$3 trillion by ships every year. Meanwhile, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam have several overlapping claims.

"This problem was raised at a meeting between PM Anwar and Chinese President Xi Jinping in China last week, because Malaysia has energy exploration projects in the area," said PM Anwar in a speech Monday.

The name does not specify which dispute or area in the South China Sea is meant by PM Anwar.

"China is also risking claims over the region. I say as a country that needs oil and gas resources, we have to continue. But if there are conditions for negotiations, then we are ready to negotiate," PM Anwar said.

Beijing claims about 90 percent of China's South Sea territory through a U-shaped "decision line" on the map, which was declared invalid in 2016 by international arbitration decisions. However, this decision was not recognized by Beijing.

Previously, efforts made by other Southeast Asian countries to negotiate with China, or carry out joint energy activities, had failed to produce breakthroughs.

Malaysia's state oil company Petronas operates several oil and gas fields in the South China Sea within an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles.

Meanwhile, Chinese ships in recent years have passed or linger near Petronas' operations, prompting protests from Malaysia.

For example, in 2021, Malaysia summoned the Chinese Ambassador to protest against the "add" into its waters by Beijing ships.