TOKYO: Asean should continue engaging all major powers, including Japan, the US, China, and Russia, even when it disagrees with them on key international issues, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today.
Speaking at the 31st Nikkei Forum, Anwar said the bloc’s strength lay in its ability to maintain dialogue and cooperation with all sides, rather than being drawn into positions shaped by major-power rivalry.
“Do we agree on all issues or positions taken by US president Donald Trump? No. With Russia, certainly we have differences, but we collaborate well,” he said during a question-and-answer session.
He said that while Asean member states had differences over issues such as the South China Sea, the Middle East, and internal economic disparities, these should not be allowed to derail cooperation.
Anwar said disputes among neighbours were natural, but Asean had shown that disagreements need not escalate into crises.
The prime minister also rejected suggestions that Malaysia’s warm ties with any particular leader or country should be interpreted as taking sides.
He said Malaysia had received both Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping warmly, adding that such gestures reflected the country’s approach of engaging all partners.
Referring to comparisons of the receptions given to both leaders, Anwar quipped: “I didn’t dance with Xi Jinping because he doesn’t dance. Otherwise I would’ve done the same.”
On Malaysia’s interest in BRICS, Anwar said engagement with the grouping should be seen as part of a broader diversification strategy, not a shift away from existing partners.
“Why BRICS? I ask, why not? We are with all countries. We are with Apec, and Apec excludes some countries. But we are with Apec,” he said.
Apec, or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, is a regional economic forum comprising 21 economies around the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade, investment, and economic cooperation.
BRICS, meanwhile, is a grouping of major emerging economies that seeks to strengthen cooperation among developing countries and advocate for a more multipolar global economic order.
Anwar said BRICS could provide another avenue for less industrialised and developing countries to have their voices more effectively heard.
However, he stressed that engagement with BRICS did not mean Malaysia was abandoning traditional partners such as the US, which remained important for trade and investment.
He also said Malaysia and other countries in the region should be more vocal in defending free trade, multilateralism, and the right of independent nations to determine their own positions.
On Malaysia’s next phase of growth, Anwar said the country benefited from institutions that had remained intact despite past political challenges, including the civil service, democratic system, and central bank.
He said the government’s task was to strengthen these institutions through gradual reforms while focusing on new growth areas such as digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies.
