• Forum
• SITREP

• Military

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space
• Public Eye

Further Reading

Malaysia

Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation. The first several years of the country's history were marred by a Communist insurgency, Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965.

A critical examination of Malaysia's foreign policy since 1957 would show its steady evolution characterised by notable changes in emphasis, which took place with the change in Malaysia's political stewardship. A markedly anti-Communist and pro-western posture with close links to the Commonwealth under Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister, gave way to one based on non-alignment, neutralization and peaceful co-existence. Under Tun Abdul Razak, as a member of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), Malaysia began to identify itself as a "Muslim nation." The search for new friends substantially increased the importance of NAM to Malaysia. Investments from other than British sources began to be also welcomed. A period of consolidation ensued under Tun Hussein Onn with ASEAN becoming the cornerstone of Malaysia's foreign policy following the collapse of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975, the withdrawal of the US military presence from Southeast Asia and the invasion of Kampuchea (now Cambodia) by Vietnam.

But a more dramatic shift occurred when Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohammad took over as the fourth Prime Minister in 1981. Malaysia's foreign policy stance began to take a much greater economic orientation than ever before, coupled with a strong and nationalistic defence of the rights, interests and aspirations of developing countries and the advocacy of south-south co-operation.

Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad dished out insults and stirred controversy for decades. Mahathir often railed at the West and sometimes blamed currency traders or Jews for economic woes such as the regional financial crisis. Mahathir stated on 13 December 2002 "The liberal democrats of Europe and America want the Jews to keep out. The Jews are too smart for the gentiles and can easily dominate them, despite not being numerous." And on 19 June 2003 Mahathir stated that "The Europeans hated the Jews even before they embraced Christianity. When they became Christians they blamed the Jews because a Jew had betrayed Christ to the Romans and was killed by crucifixion. Because of this until after the Second World War the Europeans oppressed the Jews who had migrated to their countries. Every year they carried out Pogroms and Inquisitions indulging in the massacre of the Jews. The attempt to resolve the Jewish problem reached a peak during World War II when six million Jews were killed. But after the Second World War the Jews were still in Europe. To force the Jews out of Europe, they seized the territory of the Arab Palestinians to create the state of Israel." Mahathir made headlines in October 2003 when he told a meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) that Jews "ruled the world" and that Muslims could exploit what he termed their increasing arrogance. "The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million. But today the Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them," said Mahathir. "1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews."

Regional cooperation is a cornerstone of Malaysia's foreign policy. It was a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and served as the group's chair most recently in 2005-2006. It hosted the ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit in December 2005, as well as the ASEAN Ministerial and the ASEAN Regional Forum in July 2006. Malaysia is an active member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and the United Nations. It was chair of the OIC until March 2008 and has also chaired the NAM. Malaysia is a frequent contributor to UN and other peacekeeping and stabilization missions, including recent deployments to Lebanon, Timor-Leste, Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and Kosovo.

The United States and Malaysia share a diverse and expanding partnership. Economic ties are robust. The United States is Malaysia's largest trading partner and Malaysia is the sixteenth-largest trading partner of the US. Annual two-way trade amounts to $44 billion. The United States and Malaysia launched negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in June 2006. The United States is the largest foreign investor in Malaysia on a cumulative basis. American companies are particularly active in the energy, electronics, and manufacturing sectors. The US direct investment position in Malaysia for 2007 was $15.7 billion. The United States and Malaysia cooperate closely on security matters, including counter-terrorism, maritime domain awareness, and regional stability. The relationship between the US and Malaysian militaries is also strong with numerous exchanges, training, joint exercises, and visits. The U.S. and Malaysia signed a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in July 2006 during the visit to Kuala Lumpur by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

ASEAN expects the United States to be an important strategic economic and development partner as much as it is an important diplomatic partner. The United States, on the other hand, gives a higher priority to ASEAN as a strategic partner for political and regional security purposes.

Malaysia enjoys excellent relations with China. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China in 1974, bilateral relations have been on an upward momentum. Bilateral relations between Malaysia and the People's Republic of China have progressed substantially over the years. China is definitely one of Malaysia's most important economic partners, for now and for the foreseeable future. As an important and long-standing trading and investment partner for Malaysia, bilateral trade for the last five years between Malaysia with the People's Republic of China has been growing at an average growth rate of 29.5 per cent annually. For the year 2006, China was Malaysia's 2nd largest trading partner among the East Asian countries and the 4th largest trading partner after the U.S., Singapore and Japan.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, at that time Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, said on 28 June 2006 " You don't try and fight an elephant, but you can get between an elephant's legs! China is a big market. It buys a lot of Malaysian goods, including palm oil.... China is not a threat. It is an economic challenge, but not a security threat. Given its capability to launch operations in the South China Sea, it is not a threat to Malaysia. Generally, we are comfortable with the security situation in the region. However, it would help global security if the Palestine issue is resolved. This would also help the overall security of the region. We need to find a solution to the Israel-Palestine issue based on the two state systems."

Malaysia has asserted sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties. Malaysia was not party to the March 2005 joint accord among the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam on conducting marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands. Disputes continue over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, and maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore Straits.

In November 2007, the ICJ held public hearings in response to the Memorials and Countermemorials filed by the parties in 2003 and 2005 over sovereignty of Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. The ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands, also claimed by Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia but left maritime boundary and sovereignty of Unarang rock in the hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute.

Separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompted measures to close and monitor border with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities. The Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo. Brunei and Malaysia agreed in September 2008 to resolve their offshore and deepwater seabed dispute, resume hydrocarbon exploration and renounce any territorial claims on land. Piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait.