Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said it was unwise for Asean, including Malaysia, to take a confrontational stance against China.
Mahathir said Asean countries may protest China's claim over the South China Sea, but the superpower can easily ignore them.
"That is why Malaysia has a slightly different attitude towards this. We accept that China is a powerful nation and we cannot go to war with China.
"So we need to have some diplomatic ways of negotiating with China," he said in an interview with ThaiPBS on wide-ranging international issues.
