Malaysia Anchors ASEAN's Call For Rules In South China Sea
In a keynote speech delivered on his behalf by Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) chief executive officer Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid at the ASEAN Business Forum 2025, Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia is also strengthening its engagements with strategic partners across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Europe, and the United States.
'The recent ASEAN–GCC–China Summit has also positioned our region as a bridge between Asia, the Middle East, and beyond,' he said.
'This trilateral partnership offers an opportunity to combine China's technology and infrastructure capacity, the GCC's energy and capital, and ASEAN's market and industrial dynamism into a new engine for growth and resilience.'
He added that ASEAN's newly operational Geoeconomics Task Force — co-chaired by Malaysia and Indonesia — is already offering real-time economic analysis, scenario modelling, and coordinated policy advice to help the bloc manage risks and seize emerging opportunities.
Tengku Zafrul also stressed that ASEAN ministers have 'reaffirmed an unwavering commitment to a rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at its core'.
'Our joint statements underscore a mature, forward-looking approach as ASEAN will respond to external shocks not with retaliation, but with deeper engagement, open dialogue, and collective solutions,' he said.
Highlighting ASEAN's resilience, he concluded: 'As the world undergoes a profound realignment, ASEAN's unity and centrality matter more than ever. From the Asian Financial Crisis (in 1997) to the pandemic to the present day, ASEAN has shown the world that collective action, trust, and shared purpose are the bedrock of our success.' Related
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