Arya News - The US has been so consumed by the proxy war in Ukraine that it has allowed its attention towards Asia to slip, Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister, told the Financial Times.
The US is so focused on the proxy war in Ukraine that it has has lost sight towards Asia, Malasian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told the Financial Times.Washington"s neglect of its relationship with ASEAN has led to the US losing ground to China in south-east Asia, he argued.He pointed to a series of visits by senior Chinese government figures to Malaysia, which formally takes over the annually rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year.He defended the decision by regional nations like his country to engage constructively with China — and welcomed increased Chinese investment in infrastructure.“It’s better for smaller economies such as Malaysia to extend its [ties] with China,” Anwar said.The leader rejected the notion that ASEAN needed to be “tough” with China under Malaysia’s chairmanship.The PM played down concerns over Donald Trump’s planned trade tariffs, convinced that “reason will probably prevail.”“There are too many US conglomerates and companies that have so much interest in and dependence on foreign trade and investments,” Anwar said.Malaysia will also seek to "maintain close relations with Russia" during its ASEAN chairmanship, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Mohamad Sabu told Sputnik late last year.Malaysia and Russia have "very strong relations, including in defense," the minister added.