ASEAN-Japan summit will be held to discuss in depth regional, international issues - PM Ismail Sabri

From Leslean Arshad

TOKYO, May 28 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said a special ASEAN-Japan summit would be held to discuss in depth regional and international issues.

Ismail Sabri said he had suggested the summit to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in their meeting in Tokyo on Friday that Japan should make an engagement not only with Malaysia but ASEAN and Kishida agreed to hold it next year.

"ASEAN usually has its own stand, not of individual countries," he told Malaysian journalists in Tokyo on Saturday, at the end of his official working visit to Japan.

Ismail Sabri said he also told Kishida that Malaysia would not compromise on any form of threat to its sovereignty in the South China Sea.

In handling the complex issue of the South China Sea and involving inter-state relations, all related countries must remain committed to maintaining freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, he said.

He said the actions taken by Malaysia when there was an issue of encroachment in its waters in the South China Sea was in the form of protests and negotiations with the parties involved.

"When there is a related issue, we resolve it via dialogue," he said.

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Ismail Sabri said he informed Kishida that Malaysia did not support any violation of fundamental principles such as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each country and international law.

He said Malaysia was also concerned about the impact of the conflict, including those experienced by countries not directly involved in it, like on the aspect of food security.

-- BERNAMA