ASEAN urged to seek peaceful solution

ASEAN urged to seek peaceful solution

MALAYSIA: Southeast Asian countries should seek peaceful
resolutions to disputes, Malaysia said on Thursday, amid a tense
stand-off with Indonesia over oil concessions in a disputed area.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also defense
minister, made the remark in a speech at a seminar on the future
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which
both countries are founding members.

"If we want to make peace a foundation block of the ASEAN
community, it is crucial we walk the talk," Najib said.

Malaysian and Indonesian warships were sent to the Sulawesi
Sea east of Borneo after Feb. 16 when energy giant Shell was
given an oil concession by Malaysia's state oil company Petronas
in a disputed maritime area.

Indonesian protesters denounced Malaysia's move in major
cities, volunteering to fight and demanding the country mobilize
to "crush Malaysia".

The two governments agreed last week to hold talks to end the
dispute.

"We must resist the temptation to pander to populism or to
seek short term gains," Najib said on Thursday, adding that ASEAN
members should aim to render the use of force obsolete, just as
the international community had done away with colonialism. --AFP