How Malaysia can navigate the turbulent waters in the South China Sea

Free Malaysia Today

Putrajaya has taken the ‘softly-softly’ approach to balance territorial claims with economic benefits that can be derived from ties with Beijing, but whether or not it works remains to be seen.   Read More: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2024/06/21/how-malaysia-can-navigate-south-china-seas-turbulent-waters/   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Downlonine-dash linead FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTNews #SouthChinaSea #NineDashLine #TerritorialClaims

Transcript

00:00The 9-dash line. It's a term that will inevitably come up when discussing the struggle for control

00:07over the South China Sea. But what is it about the line drawn up by China that is so contentious?

00:17The dispute centres on the superpower's claims on the maritime territories belonging to its

00:21neighbouring countries by drawing the infamous 9-dash line on its standard map.

00:26It is reported that there are hundreds of small islands within the Paracel and

00:30Spratly island chains, with its surrounding waters said to contain up to 3 billion barrels

00:35worth of petroleum. The South China Sea also sees trillions of dollars worth of global trade

00:41passing through its waters every year. Given its strategic position, it is no surprise that

00:46China's sweeping claims by virtue of the 9-dash line have drawn the ire of several ASEAN countries.

00:52Over the past decade, China has continued to expand its military presence in the maritime area,

00:57including setting up anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems on three man-made islands.

01:03This is despite repeated warnings from Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia

01:08that China's sovereignty claims on territories within their exclusive economic zones

01:12violate the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.

01:17While Putrajaya has emphasised its non-recognition of China's 9-dash line time and again,

01:22it has taken a relatively soft approach to the issue compared with the Philippines,

01:26whose navy has engaged in numerous standoffs with Chinese vessels in its waters.

01:31The question now is this, will Malaysia get tougher with China?

01:36A senior researcher at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies does not think so.

01:41Shaiman Lokman told FMT that he expects national leaders and diplomats,

01:45including Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, to continue to play down Malaysia's differences with China.

01:51He does not believe Putrajaya will consider showing a stronger stance on the issue than it already has,

01:56given that Malaysia stands to benefit economically by maintaining positive ties with Beijing.

02:02However, Shaiman said there would be high expectations for Malaysia

02:05to lead diplomatic engagements over the issue when it takes over as ASEAN chair next year.

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