Latest news with #Mohamad Hasan
Malay Mail
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Malaysia, Asean to push for reforms over UN veto powers held by US, UK, France, China, and Russia as Gaza delays spark outrage
KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 — Malaysia, together with ASEAN member states, is proposing reforms to the veto power held by the five permanent members (P5) of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan. According to him, although resolutions relating to the Gaza issue were passed with majority support in the UN General Assembly, their implementation was often delayed due to the use of veto power by the permanent members of the UN Security Council, consisting of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. 'Unfortunately, this veto power was used even though the resolution was unanimously approved at the UN General Assembly. 'That is why we are proposing that this veto power be overhauled and changed. This is what we are doing,' he said during a question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today. Mohamad said this in response to a supplementary question by Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman (PN-Kuala Krai) on Wisma Putra's further actions following the resolution of the ASEAN-GCC Summit which touched on the atrocities of the Zionist regime. Explaining further, he said the recent ASEAN-GCC Summit marked the success of Malaysian diplomacy in which a joint statement was issued on the Gaza issue for the first time. 'Previously, it was difficult to get a joint statement among ASEAN countries. But now we have succeeded in doing so, including holding a joint conference with Japan and Korea to discuss the issue of the people of Gaza,' he said. He said Malaysia is now actively strengthening cooperation with like-minded countries to voice its stance on the Gaza issue consistently at the international level. — Bernama
Times of Oman
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Will nuclear powers help keep nukes out of Southeast Asia?
Kuala Lumpur: As global powers vie for influence in Southeast Asia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is renewing its push towards nuclear disarmament. The ASEAN has long urged China, the US, the UK, Russia, and France to sign the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ) accords. Adopted by ASEAN in 1995, the SEANWFZ (also known as the Bangkok treaty) aims to keep the region free of "nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction" while allowing for civilian use of nuclear energy. Following the ASEAN Regional Forum in Kuala Lumpur last week, the bloc's current chair Malaysia urged nuclear powers to "recognize the need to completely eliminate nuclear weapons." Beijing has already confirmed it will endorse SEANWFZ, according to Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan. "China made a commitment to ensure that they will sign the treaty without reservation," Hasan told reporters on the sidelines of an ASEAN diplomatic event last week. Will US and Russia also join SEANWFZ? Hasan also indicated that Russia, which owns the world's largest nuclear arsenal, will sign the agreement as well. While Moscow has yet to comment on the issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Malaysia in early July for a series of high-profile meetings. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also in Kuala Lumpur last week for several multilateral and bilateral talks. However, it remains unclear if the US intends to sign the SEANWFZ. Both Washington and Moscow are keen to secure their influence in the region, including in the field of nuclear energy, as several ASEAN states are looking for outside partners to develop civilian nuclear programmes. A fading global order Partnerships with Washington, however, may not be as reliable as they once were. President Donald Trump's administration is pursuing a mercurial and shifting foreign policy, leaving Southeast Asia with the general sense that the rules and norms of the international order are crumbling, and the US' credibility and interest in the region are fading fast. Most Southeast Asian countries have reacted by advancing relations with Russia and China over the past few months, recognizing that Lavrov, Russia's top diplomat, may be correct in saying that the international community is fragmenting into a "multipolar world order." This leaves room for China to expand its diplomatic clout at Washington's expense. By endorsing the SEANWFZ, Beijing wants to show that it "cares about ASEAN at the same time as the US is potentially tariffing Southeast Asian states and trying to use them to isolate China, which they don't want to do," Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, told DW. "China loses nothing because there's little likelihood anyway it would need to use nukes in Southeast Asia," he added. Also, Beijing can now emphasize the contrast between its own policy and the AUKUS pact involving the US, the UK and Australia. The agreement between the three nations allows for the use of nuclear-powered submarines in the Asia-Pacific. China deploying submarines in South China Sea Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington, told DW that "China will absolutely not abide by the terms of the SEANWFZ." The SEANWFZ treaty commits its signatories not to move nuclear weapons through the region or its waterways. In recent years, however, China has been accused of "bunkering" its submarines in the South China Sea, a contested maritime area that several Southeast Asian states dispute with Beijing. In 2023, the Reuters news agency reported that China had begun to keep at least one nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine at sea at all times, with many patrolling the waters from Hainan to the South China Sea. Last year, the US military asserted that Beijing was preparing to deploy floating nuclear reactors near the artificial islands it has reclaimed in the South China Sea. Beijing wants to portray itself as reliableChina is believed to possess hundreds of operational nuclear warheads, and — according to the Pentagon — continues to expand its nuclear arsenal. "But that Beijing is willing to be the first outside nuclear power to sign the SEANWFZ is diplomatically smart and at least pays lip service to ASEAN centrality," Abuza noted, referring to the concept that ASEAN should be at the heart of broader Asia-Pacific diplomacy. "China is doing everything it can to portray itself as the responsible stakeholder in the region, committed to rules and norms. Beijing wants to paint Washington as the disruptor of the status quo and economic growth in the region," Abuza said. For political scientist and founder of the weekly ASEAN Wonk newsletter Prashanth Parameswaran, proper non-proliferation efforts would require more than just signing the SEANWFZ treaty. The vision of a regional nuclear-free zone has "historically carried normative weight" among some ASEAN states, including Malaysia, he told DW. However, Parameswaran points out that "no one in the region is under the illusion that this alone will necessarily restrain what nuclear powers will do or reverse the worrying state of the nuclear non-proliferation regime more generally."
Malay Mail
12-07-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
AMM sets stage bilateral tariff talks between Asean nations and US, says Tok Mat
KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 — The 58th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings have served as a bridge for Asean countries to address concerns over United States (US) tariffs individually through bilateral engagements, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said. He said all member states emphasised that economic concerns differ by country, prompting each to adopt its own approach in discussions with US officials. 'Each country will come up with its own plan and negotiate directly with the US, because until now, I don't think the US, particularly President Donald Trump, wants to block negotiations. 'So, that is why they are sending letters to each individual country, inviting them to come, discuss and negotiate,' he told a press conference at the conclusion of the AMM and related meetings here on Friday. US President Donald Trump on Monday imposed new tariffs ranging from 25 per cent to 40 per cent on 14 countries and issued an executive order to extend the suspension of 'reciprocal tariffs' until Aug 1. Among Asean countries, several received lower tariffs than initially announced on April 2. Vietnam's rate was reduced to 20 per cent from 46 per cent; Cambodia's dropped to 36 per cent from 49 per cent; Laos saw a decrease to 40 per cent from 48 per cent; and Myanmar's rate was revised down to 40 per cent from 44 per cent. Meanwhile, the US decided to maintain Indonesia's and Thailand's tariff rates at 32 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively, while Malaysia saw an increase to 25 per cent from 24 per cent previously. However, the US has not yet announced final tariff decisions for the Philippines (17 per cent), Singapore (10 per cent), and Brunei (24 per cent). Earlier, Asean Secretary-General Dr Kao Kim Hourn said Asean foreign and economic ministers are expected to convene a joint meeting ahead of the 47th Asean Summit in October, as part of efforts to develop a more coordinated regional response to mounting global economic headwinds. He said while the date has yet to be confirmed, the meeting will be held before the summit, which is scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 26 to 28. The Summit Plenary and Retreat are set for Oct 26. Kao said the decision comes amid growing uncertainties in global trade, adding that Asean member states have already held six rounds of discussions focused on the impact of evolving US trade policies and broader shifts in the global economic landscape. Meanwhile, following Malaysia's bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the AMM, Mohamad said the US gave the green light for further discussions between Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz and his American counterparts. 'We will continue to discuss to ensure that the interests of the country can be managed well. Our country's exports to the US are large, and 60 per cent of our exports to the US are in the form of electrical and electronic (products). For now, the materials are still being excluded. 'But come August 1, we do not know what (will happen). They only said 25 per cent (tariff), but there is no clarity on the 25 per cent. (Is it) in the same category as what was announced when we were hit by 24 per cent (previously)?' he added. He said that AMM served as a neutral platform for open dialogue, allowing Asean member states to raise individual concerns, including on trade and tariff issues, with major partners like the US. — Bernama
NHK
10-07-2025
- Business
- NHK
China, ASEAN top diplomats discuss economic ties
Foreign ministers from China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have discussed bolstering economic ties. The talks come as both sides are facing challenges amid the US President Donald Trump's tariff measures. The ministers met on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The country is hosting a series of ASEAN gatherings this week as the bloc's chair. Both sides fully completed negotiations on a so-called 3.0 version of their free trade area agreement in May. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed China is seeking closer economic ties with ASEAN, with the US tariffs in mind. Wang said "We need to draw lessons from history, advocate for an equitable and orderly multipolar world, promote an inclusive and beneficial economic globalization, and push the international order toward a more just and reasonable direction." Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan also voiced concern over the tariffs. He said "We must remain vigilant to the threat to an open, fair and rules-based trading system." But some ASEAN countries are cautious about economically leaning on Beijing. Sources say an official in the meeting cautioned excessive reliance could pose risks to the bloc depending on changes in China's economic situation.
