With Asia facing a string of geopolitical challenges, Malaysia plans to use its position as next year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to try and ease tensions by working more closely with both regional and extraregional actors, the country’s envoy to Japan said in an interview.
“Our main goal is to have a region that is not in turmoil as there can be no development without stability,” Malaysian Ambassador to Japan Shahril Effendi Abd Ghany told The Japan Times.
Kuala Lumpur will use its chairmanship to reach out to key players such as Japan, China and the United States to try and jointly tackle the critical security issues affecting the region — including territorial disputes and the ongoing civil war in Myanmar.
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