Malaysia\u2019s Middle Path Between China and US Faces New Tests<\/p>\n
Reporter<\/p>\n
September 3, 2026 | 09:58 pm<\/p>\n
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has spent\nmuch of his time in office insisting that Kuala Lumpur will not be\nforced to choose between the United States and China.<\/p>\n
But two sets of comments last month have raised questions about how\nsustainable that position is as rivalry between the two superpowers\nincreasingly spills into Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see Taiwan as part of China, period,\u201d he said in an interview with\nnews outlet Al Jazeera that aired on August 16.<\/p>\n
Beijing considers democratically governed as Taiwan part of its\nterritory. While Chinese leaders say they favor \u201cpeaceful\nreunification,\u201d they have never ruled out using force to bring the\nisland under Beijing\u2019s control.<\/p>\n
More controversially, Anwar appeared to accept Beijing\u2019s argument\nthat force could be necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf one province decides to break away. Do we use force? I think I\nwill, [to] protect the sanctity and unity of the nation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Regional concerns<\/p>\n
The comments drew an enthusiastic response from Beijing, while\nTaiwan\u2019s Foreign Ministry accused Anwar of effectively legitimizing the\nuse of force against the islandand warned that his \u201cone-sided support\nfor China could negatively impact Taiwanese businesses\u2019 confidence in\ninvesting in Malaysia,\u201d including in the country\u2019s strategically\nimportant semiconductor sector.<\/p>\n
Two days after his comments on Taiwan aired, Anwar argued that\nMalaysia should strengthen its defenses in Sabah, citing the expansion\nof US-backed military facilities on the nearby Philippine island of\nBalabac.<\/p>\n
The Philippines is upgrading facilities on Balabac, roughly 50\nkilometers (31 miles) from the Malaysian islands of Banggi and\nBalambangan.<\/p>\n
Balabac was one of four additional locations added in 2023 to the\nEnhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which allows US forces to access\ndesignated Philippine military facilities, construct infrastructure and\npre-position equipment.<\/p>\n
Taken together, Anwar\u2019s comments raised concerns that Malaysia is\ngrowing warmer toward Beijing while becoming more suspicious of\nWashington\u2019s military footprint in the region.<\/p>\n
A fundamental realignment?<\/p>\n
Kuala Lumpur has also been one of the region\u2019s strongest critics of\nIsrael\u2019s actions in Gaza. Anwar has repeatedly accused the United States\nand European governments of hypocrisy and double standards for\nchampioning democracy and international law while failing, in his view,\nto hold Israel sufficiently accountable.<\/p>\n
But Malaysia experts warn against interpreting Anwar\u2019s rhetoric as\nevidence of a fundamental strategic realignment.<\/p>\n
\u201cMalaysia still maintains very good relations with the US and other\nWestern countries,\u201d Ngeow Chow Bing, director of the Institute of China\nStudies at Universiti Malaya, told DW.<\/p>\n
Those ties may sometimes be less visible than Anwar\u2019s increasingly\nwarm public rhetoric towards Beijing, Bing said, but the underlying\nrelationship remains strong.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is certainly true that the space for maintaining its traditional\nbalancing act between China and the US is narrower than before, but that\nspace remains, and Malaysia will continue to operate within it,\u201d Bing\nadded.<\/p>\n
A shift in tone, not strategy<\/p>\n
Anwar\u2019s comments about the Philippine military buildup are much more\nabout an ongoing territorial dispute between Kuala Lumpur and Manila,\nChee Meng Tan, assistant professor at the University of Nottingham\nMalaysia, told DW.<\/p>\n
The Philippines maintains a territorial claim over Sabah, which\nbecame part of Malaysia when the federation was formed in 1963. Malaysia\nrejects the claim and regards its sovereignty over the state as\nindisputable.<\/p>\n
Those tensions resurface regularly, and in August Kuala Lumpur lodged\na fresh objection with the United Nations over a Philippine submission\nabout its continental shelf.<\/p>\n
\u201cA neighbor that claims part of your territory is building a military\nbase 20 minutes offshore \u2014 any government would react,\u201d said Tan.<\/p>\n
Anwar called for the strengthening of Malaysia\u2019s own defenses, not\nfor Chinese help, \u201cand he went out of his way to say relations with\nManila remain good,\u201d Tan added.<\/p>\n
Anwar also sought to lower the temperature over Taiwan after his\ninitial comments. Speaking to Malaysian media after the event, he\nstressed that Kuala Lumpur wanted a peaceful resolution to cross-strait\ntensions and insisted that Malaysia\u2019s position had not changed.<\/p>\n
Malaysia has formally followed a \u201cOne China\u201d policy since\nestablishing diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1974.<\/p>\n
Chinese state media quickly interpreted Anwar\u2019s remarks through\nBeijing\u2019s preferred terminology, with Xinhua reporting that the\nMalaysian leader had \u201creaffirmed the one-China principle,\u201d something\nMalaysian analysts said isn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n
Malaysia has not abandoned its traditional position, but Anwar\u2019s\nrhetoric \u201chas sometimes been more accommodating towards Beijing than\nnecessary,\u201d Khoo Ying Hooi, associate professor of international\nrelations at Universiti Malaya, told DW.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat can create the perception of a tilt even when Malaysia\u2019s wider\nstrategic behavior remains more hedged and pragmatic,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Malaysia has less room to hedge<\/p>\n
The prime minister faces mounting political pressure after his\nPakatan Harapan coalition suffered three consecutive setbacks in state\nelections.<\/p>\n
The defeats have intensified tensions within Anwar\u2019s broad governing\nalliance and speculation that he could call a snap general election.<\/p>\n
Yet beyond Anwar\u2019s rhetoric and domestic political calculations lies\na more structural problem for Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Its longstanding strategy of hedging between the United States and\nChina is becoming more difficult as Beijing\u2019s economic and military\nweight grows and Washington takes an increasingly transactional approach\nto foreign relations.<\/p>\n
\u201cMalaysia is not abandoning its traditional balancing strategy, but\nthe space for ambiguity is narrowing,\u201d said Hooi.<\/p>\n
Anwar is expected to visit China in late September, his first trip\nthere in more than a<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysias-middle-path-between-china-and-us-faces-new-tests-1788450720", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }