South China Sea needs ‘pragmatic cooperation’, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur agree

China and Malaysia reached a consensus on promoting “pragmatic maritime cooperation” in their first bilateral dialogue on the management of maritime issues in the South China Sea.

The talks took place on Thursday in the Malaysian resort hub of Langkawi, amid growing tensions between Beijing and its Southeast Asian neighbours over the disputed waters.

The meeting was co-chaired by Chinese foreign vice-minister Chen Xiaodong and Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, who served as Kuala Lumpur’s top envoy to Beijing from August 2019 to June last year and is now director-general of Malaysia’s National Security Council.

China’s foreign ministry said representatives of key maritime-related departments from both countries attended the talks, where both sides expressed how highly they valued friendly relations between China and Malaysia.

The two sides exchanged “in-depth views on the current maritime situation and related issues”, the Chinese readout said, adding that they “reached a consensus” on promoting pragmatic cooperation on the issues.

Speaking to Parliament on Tuesday before the meeting, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that state-owned energy firm Petronas would continue its oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea.