KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said he will urge his regional counterparts and China to expedite the conclusion of Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea at the Asean Leaders’ Summit in Philippines next month.
Barring some recent tensions between China and the Philippines, Anwar said the contested waters remain relatively calm despite attempts to project the situation otherwise, particularly by the West.
“Neither us (Asean) nor China have shown any sort of antagonism, animosity, or for that matter, any intention to escalate the tensions.
“We have action relations in trade, commerce, military, and in every field possible,” he said at the inaugural Kuala Lumpur-Ankara Dialogue 2026, here, today.
“So, whether it is the Indian Ocean or the South China Sea, we (Asean) maintain our right and our fierce independence in attempting to resolve our problems and differences.
During the 2025 Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur last October, Anwar said Chinese Premier Li Qiang has agreed to expedite talks on the COC.
Asean and China signed the non-binding Declaration on the Conduct of Asean and China (DOC) in 2002 and initiated talks for a legally-binding COC in 2013.
Both parties reportedly completed the second reading of the COC draft in 2023.
