Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in Phnom Penh Monday that the issue of the South China Sea should be resolved through consultation by the parties concerned and should not hinder the cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Speaking at 15th ASEAN-China Summit convened back-to-back with the 21th ASEAN Summit and other related summits in Cambodia, Najib said that complicating the South China Sea issue through heavy media coverage should not have occurred as it didn't conform with the reality of the ASEAN-China relations.

The issue should be settled through friendly consultations and negotiations by the parties directly concerned in the spirit of mutual respect and should not be internationalized, the Malaysian Prime Minister stressed.

China has made remarkable contributions to safeguarding peace and stability as well as promoting development in the Asian region, Najib said.

He expressed the confidence that China and the ASEAN could resolve the South China Sea issue through peaceful means.

Echoing the Malaysian PM's view, Kao Kim Hourn, secretary of state at Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told a press conference Sunday that ASEAN leaders had agreed at their just- concluded summit that they would not internationalize the South China Sea issue and would focus on resolving it within the existing China-ASEAN mechanism.

"The ASEAN will engage the parties concerned directly to resolve the issue through the mechanism they have," Hourn said.

On the sidelines of Sunday's ASEAN summit, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Najib pledged to boost cooperation between the two Asian nations.

Noting China has become Malaysia's largest trading partner, Wen said that the two countries have achieved outstanding progress in cooperation in finance, major projects and cultural exchanges.

Najib said that Malaysia is ready to join hands with China to work out regulations for future bilateral economic and trade cooperation and successfully build industrial parks.

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