China 'reassures' Malaysia over South China Sea dispute

Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said China had given an assurance that it would continue to negotiate with Southeast Asian countries over disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea, and avoid actions that risked escalation.

Speaking to CNN in an interview broadcast on Saturday, Anwar said Chinese Premier Li Qiang gave him the assurance after Beijing released a map with a "10-dash line" last month that appeared to expand its claims in the disputed waters.

Anwar said Li was "clear and categorical" in saying that China would continue to negotiate and not "exercise any action that would explode or cause dissension with our colleagues, our friends in the region."

"That was very reassuring," Anwar told CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour.

Anwar said Malaysia remained concerned over escalating tensions as China sought to assert its sovereignty claims over Taiwan, adding that both parties needed to avoid "unnecessary provocations" that could affect the region.

Growing tension

China’s “ten-dash line,” which it uses to demarcate its claim to most of the South China Sea, has brought it into tense standoffs with rival claimants Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines, with Chinese fishing boats and military vessels becoming more aggressive in the disputed waters.

The line also overlaps with a section of Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone extending from the Natuna Islands.

The Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam rejected China's map, describing it as baseless.

Malaysia also filed a related diplomatic protest.