The Malaysian government is open to negotiating with China over its dispute in the South China Sea

3 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, has assured this Monday that Kuala Lumpur is willing to negotiate with China to try to solve their territorial dispute in the South China Sea, after an official visit in which he held a meeting with the president of the Asian giant, Xi Jinping.

“China has demands on the area. I have said that as a small country that needs oil and gas resources, we have to continue, but if the condition is negotiations, we are ready to negotiate,” Ibrahim was quoted as saying by the agency. Malaysian state news, Bernama.

Thus, he stressed that his official visit to China has been “an extraordinary success” thanks to “the efforts not only of the Foreign Ministry, but of all the relevant ministries”, before indicating that several Chinese companies have shown their interest in positioning their offices in Malawi.

“Usually their regional headquarters are in other countries or in countries in the region. It is the first time that several (Chinese) companies have chosen Malaysia as a regional hub,” he stressed, while revealing that he conveyed to these companies the need to prioritize provision of jobs for Malaysian workers if they operate in the country.

China has long had a territorial dispute with Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines over several islands located in the South China Sea. Significant hydrocarbon reserves were discovered on the continental shelf of these islands, especially on the Xisha Islands (the Paracel Islands), Nansha (the Spratly Islands) and Huangyan (Scarborough Reef).