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.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Asean senior officials could not reach a consensus at weekend preparatory meetings and the matter would be discussed by leaders at their annual summit tomorrow.

"They still need a lot of convincing. The problem is not over. We have not achieved consensus. There are still fears. There are countries that believe they should just have it within the Jakarta secretariat," he told reporters.

Sincere intention

Even if Asean leaders could not reach a conclusion at their summit, Syed Hamid said Malaysia would continue to pursue its efforts to ensure a "more smooth and efficient follow-up and monitoring system," given the growing importance of Asean's cooperation with its East Asian neighbours.

"Malaysia's intention is very sincere. We think it's important so we are willing to be flexible and see how it can work. That's why we have not given up even though we had a lot of problems," he said.

"We will develop that step-by-step. You must not rush things over." AFP