ISTANBUL

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will engage with both the US and China amid the growing geopolitical rivalry in the wider Asia-Pacific.

"That's what I made clear… to continue to engage both with the United States and China, at the same time with other countries," Anwar told a news conference after hosting the annual summit of the ASEAN in Kuala Lumpur.

The Southeast Asian bloc also held a summit with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and a trilateral meeting with China.

Anwar said he wrote to US President Donald Trump for a joint summit with the bloc.

The bloc is not "tilting in any way,” he stressed.

China is the largest trading partner of the ASEAN, while several members of the bloc are negotiating tariff deals with the US.

The ASEAN's "consensus was to have some sort of understanding that a decision should not be at the expense of any other country," while having bilateral tariff negotiations with the US, said Anwar.

Anwar said that ASEAN is focused on "welfare, wellbeing of their people, economic relations, trade, and investments."

"So, if it means working with the Chinese, yes, we'll do it. Or the United States, yes, we have to," Anwar said.

"It makes a lot of sense to continue to engage and have reasonably good relations," Anwar added.

The prime minister said that the South China Sea dispute was also discussed.

"I'm not saying all these issues can be resolved now, but at least there is, and can be, real, meaningful, and positive engagement," Anwar said.