Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Wednesday expressed regret that a Malaysian proposal to house a secretariat for the dialogue process between Asean and China, Japan and South Korea was rejected.

"Yes, we are very disappointed that the other countries are not keen to have the secretariat. But we will continue to press for it," Mahathir was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations rejected the idea Monday, with foreign ministers meeting in Brunei saying they felt such a base would erode the strength of the group's secretariat in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

Mahathir, who has long called for an East Asian grouping, dismissed this concern. "No, I don't think so. Asean is Asean and this is Asean plus three," he said.

Among the countries that were strongly against Malaysia's proposal were Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

China, Japan and South Korea, meanwhile, are said to have given tacit backing to the Kuala Lumpur secretariat plan. AFP