RESETTING TIES WITH CHINA
Malaysia has been consistent in its foreign policy — to be friendly with all countries so long as it is in the best interest of the nation
AS China grows from strength to strength — and even if its future prospects will not necessarily be linear and upwards — it will only be a matter of time before the country becomes the preeminent global power once again.
Eclipsing the United States as the dominant superpower, as it eventually will, may actually be the easy part for China. Less clear will be the US’ reaction and response as it settles into inevitable relegation as also-ran.
The fact that even at this late stage of the geopolitical game, the West (and principally the US) still regards China as more of a “threat” than anything else — it shows the challenges the world faces in accommodating China’s rise.
While the dynamics of the China-US relationship will undoubtedly be the principal global event, others will contribute useful, crucial inputs, even if necessarily these will just be side-shows.
Enter Malaysia and our new-old Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. His first visit to China now as our seventh prime minister, coming on the heels of Pakatan Harapan chalking up 100 days in office, is drawing much international attention, and for good reason.
Many — and not just at home here in Malaysia — will be watching for early signs of how our evolving ties with China will progress under the new government. It is perhaps fair to say that both the Malaysian and Chinese governments are still sizing each other up at this initial stage.
Dr Mahathir had earlier said some fairly provocative things (as perhaps has always been his wont) about the state of relations between both countries, especially his description of some highprofile projects initiated by the previous administration with China as based on “unequal treaties”.
“Unequal treaties” is of course a very evocative historical term harking back to the times when China itself was bullied into agreeing to terms of its engagement with key Western powers before. Dr Mahathir, therefore, must have fully intended to send a signal to Beijing’s current leadership not to similarly dictate terms to lesser powers now that it is in a position to do so.
The real surprise in this episode is perhaps how China seems to take the veiled criticism with equanimity. It is not just rolling out the red carpet for Dr Mahathir but also giving him due deference as an “old friend”. Presumably China is also sending out its own message that old friends can have certain leeway to be publicly “frank” about China.
There is also surely no reason to doubt that the prime minister will be very assuredly clear-eyed about the nature of today’s China and how best for Malaysia to arrive at the “win-win” relationship that Beijing always publicly sets great store in.
Observers will no doubt watch keenly how Malaysia and China go about “resetting” their relationship in the months following Dr Mahathir’s China visit. It will potentially set new perimeters as to how China will act and will want to be perceived as the rising superpower.
China must know that any lack of certainty about what informs its global and regional decisions, goals and actions breeds distrust and will motivate others to want to hedge their bets, in their own best interests.
We have been consistent in our foreign policy, even with a change in government, to be friendly with all countries so long as it best serves our nation. Worth noting here is the fact that despite moving the nation into a tighter economic embrace with China, the previous national government also forged our status in a “strategic partnership” with the US.
Dr Mahathir, on his part, also sees nothing wrong with indulging his reputation as a “Japanophile” while forging ties with China. Forging better relations with China is now a given with most countries. In our case, it is a lot more than that. Like it or not, we cannot change the geographic reality that we live in the shadows of the rising “dragon” whose patrol crafts now are almost within plain sight off Sarawak’s coast.
We are in a fairly unique position vis-à-vis China, in that terms of our bilateral trade are much in our favour. Trade is the lifeblood of our region and Dr Mahathir is certainly right in suggesting that we all not get needlessly entangled in maritime brinkmanship in the common sea we share.
The real surprise in this episode is perhaps how China seems to take the veiled criticism with equanimity. It is not just rolling out the red carpet for Dr Mahathir but also giving him due deference as an “old friend”.
The writer views developments in the nation, the region and the wider world from his vantage point in Kuching, Sarawak.