The South China Sea should not be a theater for the United States and China to show off their military capabilities as they vie for influence in the region, Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamad Sabu said Saturday.
"Warships, B-52s, anything, we don't want them to show force in this area. They understand our language loud and clear today, both the major powers," he told Kyodo News in an interview in Singapore on the sidelines of the Fifth ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus gathering.
"All 10 (member nations) in ASEAN spoke in one voice that we want to make friends with China and the United States but we don't want them to show strength in the South China Sea," he stressed.