Malaysia‘s recent comments on the South China Sea – widely seen as closely aligned with Beijing’s – have raised concerns about Kuala Lumpur’s neutral foreign policy stance and how it may evolve ahead of its role as Asean chair next year.
During the 57th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Laos last week, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan emphasised honouring international and maritime law to minimise external powers’ influence in the South China Sea. He also called for Asean countries to resolve territorial disputes through negotiations and dialogue, without relying on external help.
“It is better for issues within Asean and the Southeast Asian region to be resolved through negotiations and dialogue among the countries themselves,” the minister said, adding that external influence would lead to “uncertainty” in the region.
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Even though no country was named, the remarks are widely seen as referring to the Philippines, who in recent months has stepped up military and security cooperation with countries such as the United States, Japan and Australia to counter confrontations with Beijing in the South China Sea.
Tensions between China and the Philippines have escalated in recent months, leading to clashes in the disputed area, including an “intentional-high speed ramming” by a Chinese Coast Guard ship on June 17, in which a Filipino sailor suffered serious injury.
Sharon Seah, coordinator of the Asean Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said there was great “frustration” from the Philippines at the drafting of last week’s ministerial meeting joint communique as Manila’s attempts to reflect the ramming incident were rejected by Asean, particularly Cambodia and the Asean chair Laos.
“[Manila] would certainly appreciate more support from its fellow claimant states, if not from Asean in general, in calling out behaviours that put persons’ safety at risk,” Seah said.
Asean members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, also have claims in the South China Sea.
There are concerns that Malaysia’s soft stance on the South China Sea, which contradicts the Philippines’ position, may become more pronounced during its chairmanship of Asean in 2025, Seah said.
Noting that Malaysia had deliberately decided not to speak on South China Sea issues previously due to its “strategic economic calculus”, Seah said that in recent months Kuala Lumpur had supported Chinese initiatives and applied to join a regional grouping spearheaded by China.
“This has brought into question whether Malaysia’s neutral foreign policy stance is changing under the Anwar government,” she said.
China has been Malaysia’s largest and most important trading partner since 2009 with total trade valued at US$98.9 billion in 2023. During Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Malaysia in June, several bilateral agreements were signed, including a new five-year deal on economic and trade cooperation.
Malaysia was also one of the early supporters of China’s vision of a Community of Shared Future for Mankind, its Global Development Initiative, Global Civilisational Initiative, Global Security Initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative.
On Sunday, Malaysia sent a letter of application to join Brics, the group of emerging economies, a move hailed by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday, saying Beijing “welcomes more like-minded partners” to ensure a “more just and equitable” international order.
Seah added that defenders of Malaysia’s foreign policy perceived Kuala Lumpur as “taking a non-confrontational approach to the South China Sea, and there is no need to add to the temperatures there”.
“Others say that Malaysia’s approach is because Malaysian boats and personnel have not been on the receiving end of aggression,” she said.
Izzah Khairina Ibrahim, an analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) in Malaysia, said while Hasan’s comments might appear to be aligned with China’s wishes, the overall Malaysian statement is in line with the Malaysian government position.
Officially, Malaysia maintains that South China Sea issues must be resolved peacefully through existing platforms and diplomatic channels, and that disputes and the use of force should be avoided.
On whether Kuala Lumpur’s position might affect Asean unity, Izzah said “immediate destabilising effects” were not expected, adding that due to the lack of a coordinated approach by claimant states to the South China Sea issue, Malaysia’s actions or inaction might still be seen as the choice of an individual state.
“However, like many other issues plaguing [Asean], the issue still retains the potential to be another factor in fracturing the institution if left unattended”, she warned.
Noting that Asean chairmanship carried expectations of major decisions and outcomes by external observers, Izzah said such expectations needed to be “tampered to account for the realities of these countries’ capacity and the roles granted by [Asean]”, Izzah said
“To avoid setting it up for a disappointing appraisal after each term, there needs to be better understanding about its roles and functions,” she added.
It is expected that the chair of Asean, which rotates annually, will promote the interests and well-being of the group and establish an effective and timely response to urgent issues or crises affecting Asean, according to Article 32 of its Charter.
In recent years, Asean unity amid contentious regional and international issues have come under scrutiny, and its inability to speak with a united voice is magnified particularly on the South China Sea issue, as well as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and the situation in Myanmar.
In this year’s Southeast Asia survey by ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, 77 per cent of 2000 Southeast Asian polled expressed concerns that a “slow and ineffective” Asean will be unable to cope with fluid political and economic developments.