Malaysia-China relations in the 1990s: The maturing of a partnership

Asian Survey

Volumn 40, Issue 4, 2000, Pages 672-691

  Liow, Joseph Chin Yong ^a,b  

^a NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY   (Singapore)

^b UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

FOREIGN POLICY; INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; PARTNERSHIP APPROACH; POST-COLD WAR; REGIONAL SECURITY;

CHINA; MALAYSIA;

EID: 0033793076     PISSN: 00044687     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1525/as.2000.40.4.01p0093e     Document Type: Article

References (55)

1. A survey of the literature has identified only two works that have discussed in detail Malaysia's policy toward China in the context of this post-cold war period: J. N. Mak's 1991 study explored Malaysia's perceptions of China's naval buildup, while Amitav Acharya's chapter in Johnston and Ross's volume looked at Malaysia's response to the rise of China through the prism of international relations theory. See Mak Joon Nam, "The Chinese Navy and the South China Sea: A Malaysian Assessment," Pacific Review 4:2 (1991), and Amitav Acharya, "Containment, Engagement or Counter-Dominance: Malaysia's Response to the Rise of China," in Engaging China: The Management of an Emerging Power, eds. Alistair lain Johnston and Robert Ross (New York: Routledge, 1999).
2. A survey of the literature has identified only two works that have discussed in detail Malaysia's policy toward China in the context of this post-cold war period: J. N. Mak's 1991 study explored Malaysia's perceptions of China's naval buildup, while Amitav Acharya's chapter in Johnston and Ross's volume looked at Malaysia's response to the rise of China through the prism of international relations theory. See Mak Joon Nam, "The Chinese Navy and the South China Sea: A Malaysian Assessment," Pacific Review 4:2 (1991), and Amitav Acharya, "Containment, Engagement or Counter-Dominance: Malaysia's Response to the Rise of China," in Engaging China: The Management of an Emerging Power, eds. Alistair lain Johnston and Robert Ross (New York: Routledge, 1999).
3. Mahathir Mohamad, "Regional Co-operation: Challenges and Prospects" (speech delivered at Qing Hua University, Beijing, November 1985).
4. "Commentary Hails Healthy Ties with PRC," Radio Malaysia Network (Kuala Lumpur), June 24, 1993, in Foreign Broadcast and Information Service (FBIS), Daily Report/East Asia (DR/EAS), June 25, 1993; and "Malaysia Assumes Larger, More Vital Role in Regional Affairs," Straits Times, September 15, 1994.
5. "Commentary Hails Healthy Ties with PRC," Radio Malaysia Network (Kuala Lumpur), June 24, 1993, in Foreign Broadcast and Information Service (FBIS), Daily Report/East Asia (DR/EAS), June 25, 1993; and "Malaysia Assumes Larger, More Vital Role in Regional Affairs," Straits Times, September 15, 1994.
6. "China, Malaysia Build Closer Ties," Deutsche Presse-Agentur, August 26, 1996.
7. Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia, Buku Tahunan Perangkaan (Annual statistics) (Kuala Lumpur: Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia, 1998), p. 169.
8. See "KL Supports Entry of Beijing into WTO," Business Times Malaysia, August 20, 1999.
9. "Dr.M's China Visit Reaffirms KL-Beijing Ties," Business Times Malaysia, August 23, 1999.
10. Bumiputera ("sons of the soil") is the term used to denote the indigenous, largely Malay ethnic group.
11. See Stepen Leong, "Malaysia and the People's Republic of China in the 1980s," Asian Survey 27:10 (October 1987), pp. 1113-15, 1117-18, and 1122-24; Zainuddin Bahari, "Malaysia-China Bilateral Relations" in ASEAN and China: An Evolving Relationship, eds. Joyce K. Kallgren, Noordin Sopiee, and Soedjati Djiwandono (Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley, Institute of East Asian Studies, 1988), pp. 247-51.
12. See Stepen Leong, "Malaysia and the People's Republic of China in the 1980s," Asian Survey 27:10 (October 1987), pp. 1113-15, 1117-18, and 1122-24; Zainuddin Bahari, "Malaysia-China Bilateral Relations" in ASEAN and China: An Evolving Relationship, eds. Joyce K. Kallgren, Noordin Sopiee, and Soedjati Djiwandono (Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley, Institute of East Asian Studies, 1988), pp. 247-51.
13. Ibid.
14. See Yoichi Funabashi, Asia-Pacific Fusion: Japan's Role in APEC (Washington, D.C.: Institute for International Economics, 1995), pp. 73-76.
15. "Chinese President Yang Says EAEC Will Benefit Region," Japan Economic Newswire, January 11, 1992.
16. See "Mahathir Interviewed on APEC, Ties with Japan," Asahi shinbun, October 31, 1994, in FBIS, DR/EAS, November 3, 1994.
17. "Mahathir Interviewed on NAM, Other Issues," Tempo (Jakarta), September 12, 1992, in FBIS, DR/EAS, September 22, 1992.
18. See "Gulf: Indonesia and Malaysia in Dilemma over Gulf: Islamic Sympathies," Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER), February 28, 1991, p. 20.
19. "KL Not Ruling West Out Despite Ties with China," Straits Times, August 28, 1996.
20. "Jiang to Meet Snubbed Mahathir," South China Morning Post, November 17, 1998.
21. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, untitled speech delivered in Beijing, November 20, 1985, in Foreign Affairs Malaysia 18:3 (December 1985), p. 392.
22. "China and Malaysia Sign Joint Statement for Future Cooperation," Xinhua, Beijing, May 31, 1999, in Summary of World Broadcasts (SWB/FE/3550 G/4), June 2, 1999.
23. This point was expressed to me by a diplomatic source in an interview in Kuala Lumpur, April 26, 2000.
24. Mak, "The Chinese Navy," p. 150.
25. Acharya, "Containment," p. 129.
26. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, "The Socialist Market Economy of the People's Republic of China: The ASEAN Perspective" (speech delivered at 1994 China Summit Meeting, Beijing, May 1994).
27. "Malaysia, Seeing a Threat, Urges U.S. to Stop Building Up Power of China," New York Times, July 10, 1984.
28. "The ADJ Interview: Dato Syed Hamid Albar, Malaysia's Defense Minister," Asian Defense Journal, April 1996.
29. Mak, "The Chinese Navy," p. 150.
30. J. N. Mak and B. A. Hamzah, "The External Maritime Dimensions of ASEAN Security" in The Transformation of Security in the Asia-Pacific Region, ed. Desmond Ball (London: Frank Cass, 1996), p. 128.
31. See "Golden Opportunity for RMN," New Straits Times, April 28, 2000.
32. See "Malaysia's Armed Forces in the Late 1990s: Aiming for Credible Conventional Capability," Asian Defense Journal, April 1996.
33. See International Institute of Strategic Studies, The Military Balance 1997/1998 (London: Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 168.
34. See "Malaysia: Army Backdates Spend Priorities," Jane's Defence Weekly, March 29, 2000.
35. See "Golden Opportunity for RMN," New Straits Times, April 28, 2000.
36. Mahathir Mohamad and Ishihara Shintaro, The Voice of Asia: Two Leaders Discuss the Coming Century (Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1995), pp. 119-21.
37. "KL Wants War Games Tweaked to Suit Its Needs," Straits Times, March 8, 1999.
38. See Acharya, "Containment."
39. As cited in Shanti Nair, Islam in Malaysian Foreign Policy (London: Routledge, 1997), p. 95.
40. For a list and description of the 12 reefs and atolls that Malaysia claims, see R. Haller-Trost, The Spratly Islands: A Study on the Limitations of International Law, Centre of East Asian Studies, Occasional Paper, no. 14 (Kent: University of Kent at Canterbury, Centre of East Asian Studies, 1990), pp. 67-70.
41. "China's Strategy," FEER, August 13, 1992, p. 22.
42. B. A. Hamzah, "Jurisdictional Issues and the Conflicting Claims in the Spratlys: What Can Be Done in Enhancing Confidence-Building Measures" (paper presented at the Workshop on Managing Potential Conflicts in the South China Sea, Bali, January 1990).
43. "China's Warning on Spratlys Raises Spectre of Armed Clashes," Straits Times, March 11, 1992.
44. "ASEAN Taking a More Active Role in Spratlys Dispute," ibid., April 8, 1995.
45. "Neighbors Challenge Beijing's Claim - ASEAN Presents a United Front to China in Ocean Boundaries Dispute," Asian Wall Street Journal, April 17, 1995.
46. "Foreign Minister Comments on Spratlys Incidents," Utusan Malaysia, July 15, 1995, in FBIS, DR/EAS, July 18, 1995.
47. "Malaysia's Badawi Views Spratlys," Star (Kuala Lumpur), August 2, 1995, in FBIS, DR/ EAS, August 2, 1995.
48. "Hamid: Spratlys Issue Not for ARF Discussion," New Straits Times, July 23, 1999; and "Spokeswoman on Sino-ASEAN Ties, Spratlys," Xinhua Hong Kong Service, July 15, 1999, in FBIS, Daily Report/China, July 15, 1999.
49. "Hamid: Spratlys Issue Not for ARF Discussion," New Straits Times, July 23, 1999; and "Spokeswoman on Sino-ASEAN Ties, Spratlys," Xinhua Hong Kong Service, July 15, 1999, in FBIS, Daily Report/China, July 15, 1999.
50. "Manila Optimistic ASEAN to Reach Accord by November," Manila Business World, July 23, 1999, in FBIS, DR/EAS, July 23, 1999.
51. "Malaysia: Defense Minister Meets Chinese Army Head, Confirms 'Good Friendship'," BBC Worldwide Monitoring, January 25, 1999.
52. "China, Malaysia Pledge Defense Cooperation," Reuters, June 2, 1999.
53. See "China Praises Mahathir's Courage," Bernama News Agency, August 19, 1999; and "China: Jiang Backs Mahathir's Handling of Regional Economic Crisis," China Business Information Network, August 20, 1999.
54. See "China Praises Mahathir's Courage," Bernama News Agency, August 19, 1999; and "China: Jiang Backs Mahathir's Handling of Regional Economic Crisis," China Business Information Network, August 20, 1999.
55. Acharya, "Containment."