Malaysia hopes to settle quickly a territory dispute with neighbouring Brunei so both countries can begin oil exploration in the area soon, a senior minister said today.

"We want to resolve it as soon as possible. We like to sort it out so that Brunei can carry out their activities and Malaysia can carry out its activities," Syed Hamid Albar, foreign minister told reporters.

The contested area represents about half of Brunei's entire offshore territory and is vital to its plans to diversify its oil-dependent economy.