SOUTH CHINA SEA AGGRESSION MUST BE TREATED AS COLLECTIVE ASEAN CONCERN

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia reiterated that growing tensions and acts of aggression in the South China Sea should be treated as a collective concern for ASEAN rather than the responsibility of any single member state.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that the most effective approach to addressing regional security challenges was through unity, dialogue and mutual trust among ASEAN member countries.

"We cannot control how countries behave, whether they are our neighbours, big or small. But our principle is that we must come together. 

"We believe that through unity, we can discuss our differences. Most importantly, by staying united, we can build trust,” he said in a press conference after a walkabout at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) in conjunction with the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) 2025.

The 19th ADMM and the 12th ADMM-Plus will commence tomorrow and until Nov 2 with participation from eight dialogue partners namely United States, Russia, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

Mohamed Khaled emphasised that trust-building must occur not only within ASEAN but also between the regional bloc and its external partners.

"It is important for every country, not only for Malaysia, to build trust with others. But it is equally important for others, including China to build trust with Malaysia,” he said.

He explained that Malaysia's current defence framework acknowledges the reality of regional security challenges, stressing that the country and its ASEAN partners must be prepared to address them in a coordinated and collective manner.

"We recognise there are challenges in our defence landscape. We do not want to pretend that everything is fine and be surprised when incidents occur. Addressing these challenges cannot depend solely on a single nation. That is why we talk about ASEAN centrality and ASEAN consensus,” he added.

Mohamed Khaled said ASEAN nations must demonstrate unity and a common position in responding to issues related to the South China Sea, ensuring that external powers understand they are engaging with ASEAN as a whole, rather than with individual member states.

"Challenges faced by ASEAN states in this region are problems that must be shared and managed collectively by all ASEAN members, so that every country coming into this region will see that they are not dealing with one country alone, but with ASEAN,” he said.

He reiterated Malaysia's commitment to peaceful engagement and regional cooperation through ASEAN mechanisms to maintain stability, security and freedom of navigation in the vital waterway.

-- BERNAMA