ANKARA

Malaysia on Sunday condemned Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip, saying it reflected “indifference and double standards” on the plight of Palestinian people.

“They are a direct result of the erosion of the sanctity of international law,” Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said in his opening statement at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting that opened in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the bloc's 46th summit on Monday.

Mohamad's remarks came as Israel has stepped up its campaign this month in war-torn Gaza, where nearly 54,000 victims, mostly women and children have been killed since Tel Aviv began an onslaught on the besieged enclave in October 2023.

"Crises around the world continue unabated. The total siege of Gaza by Israeli forces is causing mass starvation and deaths," said the top diplomat.

The atrocities, he observed, committed against the Palestinians continue to reflect "indifference and double standards."

"ASEAN cannot remain silent. We have a voice in world affairs, and we must use our voice to speak up for the oppressed and offer solutions grounded in principles and international law," he said.

In February, foreign ministers from the 10-member association asserted their “longstanding support” for Palestinian rights.

Mohamad urged stakeholders in civil war-hit Myanmar to cease hostilities, extend and expand a ceasefire agreement, facilitate the long and difficult path toward recovery and ease the suffering of their countrymen.

He was referring to a massive earthquake in Myanmar in late March that killed nearly 3,800 victims and caused heavy infrastructural losses.

Mohamad cautioned that "superpower competition," and the resulting shifts in the global order, have the potential to disrupt the ASEAN region’s landscape.

Citing the imposition of the now-paused US tariffs on ASEAN nations, he said the US-China trade war is "dramatically" disrupting production and trade patterns worldwide.

A global economic slowdown is likely to happen, he warned.

The bloc’s member states have been hit by US tariffs ranging from 10% to 49%, though President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on the penalties last month, prompting ASEAN nations to briskly begin talks with Washington.

"We must seize this moment to deepen regional economic integration, so that we can better shield our region from external shocks," he said.​​​​​​​

"On top of that, we are also grappling with the accelerating impacts of climate change and technological disruption. Around the world, temperatures and sea levels are rising, and artificial intelligence is evolving faster than any government is responding," he maintained.

ASEAN is an international intergovernmental organization consisting of Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia.

Malaysia took the ASEAN rotating chairmanship in 2025.

*Writing by Aamir Latif