Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said that former colonial powers should not lecture nations they once exploited on their internal affairs, a Chinese newspaper reported yesterday, in a veiled attack on the West as he looks to strengthen ties with China.
Najib’s visit to Beijing follows that of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who announced a “separation” from the US and signed a raft of memoranda of understanding for Chinese investment in his nation.
Najib, who is on a six-day visit to China, said in an editorial in the state-run China Daily that larger nations should treat smaller nations fairly.
“And this includes former colonial powers. It is not for them to lecture countries they once exploited on how to conduct their own internal affairs today,” Najib wrote.
The Philippines is a former Spanish and US colony, while Malaysia is a former British colony.
Najib is looking to strengthen ties with China after July lawsuits filed by the US Department of Justice implicating him in a money-laundering scandal. Najib has denied any wrongdoing and said Malaysia would cooperate with the investigations.
More than US$3.5 billion was allegedly misappropriated from Malaysian government-owned strategic development company 1MDB, according to civil lawsuits filed by the department.
The probe has strained ties between Malaysia and the US, with Najib dismissing it as foreign interference in Malaysia’s affairs.
The shift by the Philippines and Malaysia is being widely seen as China’s counter to US influence in the region.
Najib also wrote that disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved through dialogue in accordance with the rule of law.
China claims most of the waters through which about US$5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines also have claims.
“When it comes to the South China Sea, we firmly believe that overlapping territorial and maritime disputes should be managed calmly and rationally through dialogue, in accordance with the rule of law and peaceful negotiations,” Najib wrote.
Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Zhenmin (劉振民) said on Tuesday that Malaysia had pledged to handle South China Sea disputes bilaterally.
Malaysia agreed to buy four Chinese naval vessels and signed 14 agreements totaling 143.64 billion ringgit (US$34.25 billion), Malaysian news agency Bernama said, after a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) and Najib on Tuesday.
Najib also said Malaysia welcomed the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank which marks a turning point “of peaceful dialogue, not foreign intervention, in sovereign states.”
Global institutions needed to be inclusive of “countries that were given no say in the legal and security infrastructure that was set up by the victors of the Second World War,” he wrote.
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