Author Topic: Malaysian PM Praises Ties with China, Rebukes West  (Read 230 times)

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Malaysian PM Praises Ties with China, Rebukes West
« on: April 16, 2020, 07:07:38 AM »
BENARNEWS- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Wednesday praised growing strategic ties with China but signaled his irritation with the West by warning “former colonial powers” in an op-ed article to treat smaller countries “fairly” and not “lecture” them about their “internal affairs.”
A day after presiding over the signing of a deal in Beijing to buy four warships from China – Malaysia’s first purchase of Chinese military vessels – Najib elaborated in an opinion piece in the China Daily newspaper about deepening bilateral cooperation over trade, investment, and defense ties.
“Ties between our two countries are now set to reach new highs,” Najib wrote.
Since he arrived in China on Tuesday for a six-day trip, Najib has witnessed the signing of more than a dozen memoranda of understanding worth 144 billion ringgit ($34.4 billion), including a deal for China to build a railway line in Malaysia, Agence France-Presse reported.
The trip comes at a time when several countries are investigating alleged misuse of funds from Malaysian state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed lawsuits in July seeking to recover more than $1 billion in assets allegedly paid for with money stolen from 1MDB. The stepson and associates of Najib were named as targets of the U.S. lawsuits.
A U.S. justice official close to the investigations told the Wall Street Journal that Najib, who has been mired in corruption allegations over 1MDB, was the person identified more than 30 times in the suits as “Malaysian Official 1.” The prime minister has denied any criminal wrong doing in connection with the scandal.
‘It is not for them to lecture …’
Najib, who did not mention 1MDB in the article, wrote that it was “incumbent upon larger countries to treat smaller ones fairly.”
“And this includes former colonial powers. It is not for them to lecture countries they once exploited on how to conduct their own internal affairs today,” Najib said, adding, “Malaysia and China are united in agreeing on the need to defend the sovereignty of the nation state and in the belief that the individual histories, values and governance systems of different countries must be respected.”
Najib’s visit to China follows a trip made there recently by Rodrigo Duterte, the new president of the Philippines, who has spoken provocatively about building a closer relationship between Manila and Beijing and threatened to shift away from his country’s longstanding alliance with the United States, its former colonizer.
The Philippines and Malaysia also are among countries in Southeast Asia involved in a dispute with China over their respective territorial claims in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, Indonesian and Australian officials have said in recent days that their countries are exploring the possibility of mounting joint naval patrols in the strategic sea.
In his op-ed, Najib also touched on efforts between Beijing and Kuala Lumpur to ease tensions in the South China Sea.
“The relationship between China and Malaysia is based on mutual trust and respect. At the same time, we recognize that there can be issues where even the closest of friends may disagree,” the prime minister wrote.
“When it comes to the South China Sea, we firmly believe that overlapping territorial and maritime disputes should be managed calmly and rationally through dialogue, in accordance with the rule of law and peaceful negotiations.”
‘Conducive to regional peace and development’
In recent days, security analysts have commented that China’s growing influence in Southeast Asia could lead to countries, including Malaysia and the Philippines, distancing themselves from the United States.
In Beijing on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry was asked whether the bilateral deals signed with Malaysia represented another effort by China to counteract American influence in East Asia.
“The enhancement of mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Malaysia is in line with the two countries' interests and is conducive to regional peace and development,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a news conference, according to a transcript.
“China's development of normal diplomatic relations between countries never targets any third party.”


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