KUALA LUMPUR: Sovereign interdependence must be founded upon choice, resilience and mutual respect to maintain national dignity while engaging with the world.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stated that interdependence remains unavoidable in today’s interconnected global landscape.
He emphasised that smaller and developing nations should freely select their partnerships rather than accept imposed relationships from external powers.
“This is not a call for a retreat from globalisation,” he declared during his special address at the Kuala Lumpur Roundtable on Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation.
Anwar explained that nations must stand firmly on their own feet even as they stand together through this reformed approach.
He asserted that sovereign interdependence preserves openness while safeguarding dignity against both enforced dependence and decoupling.
Anwar lamented that interdependence has been weaponised by the world’s largest economy instead of facilitating cooperation.
He noted that energy pipelines, shipping routes and semiconductor supply chains have become instruments of unfair leverage.
Payment systems and capital flows are increasingly deployed as tools of pressure in international relations.
“The result is pervasive uncertainty and a sense of fragility is unmistakable,” he observed about the current global situation.
Anwar warned that unbridled mercantilism and economic disruptions carry profound security and geopolitical implications.
He recalled that history shows prosperity declines and instability spreads when nations compete to build walls.
The global trading system now faces significant distress with the World Trade Organisation in near-paralysis.
Anwar pointed out that the world’s largest economies have become disruptors rather than custodians of the international system.
Tariffs swing wildly while export controls are imposed and lifted with little warning under current conditions.
Financial sanctions frequently reach far beyond their intended targets in today’s fragmented world.
He concluded that economic compartmentalisation can no longer serve the complex nature of modern geoeconomics.
The roundtable was co-hosted by Boao Forum for Asia and the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia.
This event forms part of BFA’s exclusive regional dialogue series highlighting Malaysia’s ASEAN leadership.
Discussions focused on strengthening multilateralism and enhancing inclusive connectivity across the region.
Participants examined resilient supply chains and advantages of major free trade agreements.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership received particular attention.
The Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific also featured prominently in the roundtable discussions. – Bernama
