Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said his country was concerned about the presence of Chinese coast guard vessels in its waters, while attending the 20th ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Council Meeting in Thailand on November 2 as part of the ongoing 35th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah  (Source: malaymail.com)
 

He voiced his concerns over the more frequent appearance of Chinese vessels in areas near the coast of Malaysia while the negotiations on building a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) with Beijing is going on.

Besides, Saifuddin said Malaysia’s foreign ministry will set up a maritime research centre and invite ASEAN member nations to join.

He also mentioned a series of issues and challenges that ASEAN is facing and called on the bloc to redouble efforts to deal with the rise of radicalism and extremism.

Malaysia will actively take part in the field through activities of ASEAN counter-terrorism centre, he affirmed.