As great power competition intensifies, Asian countries are under pressure to choose between the geopolitical tussle between United States and China. Recognising its waning dominance in the region, Washington is probing the willingness of allies and partners to join an economic coalition in confronting China. China is realigning herself to solidify its commodity supply chains and increase the economic interdependence of other countries in the region so as to become an indispensable player in Asia. In an architectural overarching strategy, Beijing is using its politico-economic power (and military prowess) to weaken the cohesion of the US-led alliance system and bring US allies and partners closer to her orbit, including closer ties with Latin America and Russia.
What is Malaysia posture?
Attesting that the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) — comprising the United States, Japan, Australia and India (latter weakest member; India has to walk-the-talk) — intends to multilateralise the US-led hub-and-spoke alliance system to enable a networked security architecture, in furtherance of the military encirclement of China. The U.S. is dedicating $27 billion to the Pacific Deterrence Initiative – a plan to expand the U.S. military stranglehold over Okinawa, Korea, Guam, Hawai’i – and more importantly, being perceived as a War on China.
Malaysia, like other southeast Asian countries have been reluctant to join QUAD’s initiative; see ASEAN’s; Further, the uncertainty enmeshed in the US–China trade-tariff confrontation, may temporary gives Malaysia a momentary grace in attracting more foreign investment.
What is Malaysia positioning?
Always remembering that since Majaphahit-Srivijaya empires to the China protectorate status to hinder Siamese incursion into the peninsula to the adventures of Portuguese-Dutch-British colonialism, and later Japanese occuptation, with Britain re-emergence as a neo-colonial administration before gaining “independence” – has Malaya ever been freed from political domination or Malaysia avoiding the economic stranglehold of monopoly-capitalism from the Global North, and now increasingly under a SOE-GLC ethnocapital and brotherly relationship positioning that does not brood well to small manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) and local entrepreneurs that constitute 98% of the national economic activities, contributing 40% of GDP.
The future of US-China relationship – collaterally impacting upon Asia – is to co-exit and collaborate, maintaining competition, and prevent conflict, even as the USA admitted – admist inherent weaknesses – her politico-economic stance. The better alternative would be to restore U.S. technology leadership, rebuild its supply chains, and improve self industrial competitiveness than to muddle in the Pacific affairs as China goes through its dual circulation economy so that Asia has a less bumpy intra-trade ride ahead – and better not to prepare for war with China.
Firestorms 