PHNOM PENH Malaysia was to pursue plans to set up a bureau to coordinate Southeast Asia's cooperation with China, Japan and South Korea despite opposition from its neighbours, a minister said today.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has offered to host an 'Asean Plus Three' secretariat but was rejected in July by Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia, which fear it could undermine the existing Asean secretariat in Jakarta.

Malaysia has since scaled down its proposal to host a bureau that would answer to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) secretariat.