By Danial Dzulkifly
KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan today called for restraint and dialogue in the South China Sea, warning that growing geopolitical tensions risk undermining regional security and disrupting global trade.
Speaking at the Asean Post-Ministerial Conference with China, co-chaired with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Mohamad said Asean must remain committed to peace and stability despite an increasingly uncertain global climate.
“The fragility of global peace is becoming more apparent by the day. This demands that we redouble our efforts towards ensuring peace and stability in our region are maintained,” he said during the meeting held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here today.
He welcomed progress on the long-delayed Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, and said Asean hopes for a “substantive and effective” deal with full commitment from all parties.
Mohamad also hailed China’s readiness to be the first nuclear-weapon state to sign and ratify the Protocol to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone treaty without reservations, calling it a significant step toward regional disarmament.
On the economic front, he noted that Asean and China remain each other’s largest trading partners for a fourth consecutive year, with trade reaching US$770.94 billion in 2024, a 10.6 per cent increase from the previous year.
Mohamad warned that rising protectionism posed a growing threat to open and rules-based trade.
“We must remain vigilant to the threat to an open, fair and rules-based trading system. The signing of the Asean-China Free Trade Area 3.0, scheduled for later this year, comes at an opportune moment,” he said, referring to the updated tariffs imposed by the United States on countries across the globe, including Malaysia.
A 25 per cent tariff on Malaysian exports will take effect on August 1, following a three-month pause on an earlier 24 per cent rate.
Other countries hit by the US’ revised measures include Japan, South Korea, Tunisia, and Kazakhstan.
Several others, including South Africa, Indonesia and Thailand, face even steeper duties, with rates reaching up to 40 per cent in the case of Laos and Myanmar.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim criticised the tariffs as regressive.
“When I meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (today), I will certainly raise some of these issues for his consideration before the final decision by President Donald Trump,” he said.
Rubio arrived in Malaysia today for bilateral meetings with Asean counterparts.
Also due to attend is Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
