Malaysia's prime minister is trying to calm anger in Taiwan after comparing the island to a breakaway Malaysian state, saying peace is the best way to settle disputes.

• Anwar Ibrahim told Al Jazeera that Taiwan is like a Malaysian state trying to leave the federation, and pointed to using force to keep a country together.
• After the backlash, he said Malaysia respects China's position on Taiwan but believes any dispute is best solved peacefully.
• He said Malaysia still follows its "One China" policy, unchanged since the 1970s, and admitted his wording may have landed badly.
• Taiwan's office in Kuala Lumpur pushed back, saying Taiwan and China do not rule each other and that peace in the Taiwan Strait matters for the whole region.
• Taiwan pointed to close business ties as leverage: trade between the two has grown more than 30% for three straight years, with Taiwanese factories creating jobs there and over 130,000 Malaysians having studied in Taiwan.

Outlook: Expect Malaysia to keep balancing its China ties against its economic links with Taiwan, with no change to its formal position.