Malaysia's ambassador to China, Raj Datuk nusirwan, said in an exclusive interview with the Global Times recently that Malaysia will not follow the steps of the United States, and the 24 Chinese enterprises that have been sanctioned by the United States for the construction of islands and reefs in the South China Sea have closed the door to investment cooperation. He also said that the change of US position on the South China Sea issue will not affect Malaysia's position in settling South China Sea affairs with China through diplomatic channels. "We don't think there is any other way to solve the South China Sea affairs," said the Southeast Asian diplomat. "We don't see ourselves as pawns.".
Malaysia is one of the Southeast Asian countries that have disputes with China over the South China Sea sovereignty issue. In July this year, the United States changed its "seemingly neutral" position on South China Sea affairs, claiming that many of China's claims in the South China Sea were "illegal"; a month ago, 24 Chinese enterprises were included in the "entity list" of sanctions in the name of "helping the Chinese military build artificial islands in the South China Sea". Analysts pointed out that the U.S. move is intended to stir up the local situation and force the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries to "stand on the sidelines" and become the "pawn" of the United States against China.
However, the US intentions may be difficult to achieve. Nuosilvan told the global times that the tension between China and the United States in the South China Sea is escalating, but Malaysia will not "choose the side to stand in line." as a saying goes, "choice means loss."
"The idea that Southeast Asian countries need to" choose sides to stand in line "is essentially based on the assumption that small countries are chess pieces between big countries. But I can tell you for sure that we don't regard ourselves as chessmen, "he stressed. He also appreciated the Chinese government's position of not forcing Southeast Asian countries to choose their border stations. He believed that the Chinese government strongly supports the countries in the region to adopt independent foreign policies.
Nusirwan said Malaysia and China have always dealt with South China Sea affairs on the basis of mutual respect in the past, and both countries have realized that "in essence, our interests (in the South China Sea) are the same.". Recalling his exchange with Chinese diplomatic officials, he told reporters that he and his Chinese colleagues agreed that the two countries can no longer use the term "South China Sea issue" in their expressions in the future, because the South China Sea is not a "problem", but a "challenge" that needs to be faced together.
"We don't think there are other ways to solve the South China Sea affairs besides through diplomatic channels." The Malaysian diplomat told globe news that the game between big powers is escalating in the South China Sea region. Although the possibility of any party intentionally provoking armed conflict is low, "the possibility of miscalculation always exists, especially when there are too many military assets in a region for a period of time. This is why Malaysia has repeatedly stressed that sensitive waters need to be demilitarized. "
Since the South China Sea is regarded by the Pentagon as a hot spot for future war, in recent days, the U.S. armed services have frequently launched Island seizing exercises. Both the "Pacific guard 2020" exercise, which was just completed by the United States Air Force and army joint exercise, or the "brave shield 2020" exercise being carried out by the US Navy in Guam, all try to show the operation style and ability of the US military to seize the island when it conflicts with "equal strength adversaries".
Nusirwan stressed that he hoped that all parties would remain rational and pay attention to the fact that their actions should promote peace in the region rather than war. "I very much appreciate the statement made by Chinese leaders that China will promote peace in the region and does not want war or chaos in the South China Sea. I think this is the attitude of a responsible government." He said.
When asked whether Malaysia would follow suit in imposing sanctions on 24 Chinese enterprises involved in the construction of islands and reefs in the South China Sea that had been previously sanctioned by the United States, he made it clear that Malaysia does not recognize any unilateral sanctions, "this is an important principle of ours, and we will implement it at any time."
Although the United States has been trying to "stir up the storm" between China and Southeast Asian countries, the relationship between China and the countries in the region is still developing steadily. According to public information, in 2019, Malaysia is China's ninth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade volume reaching US $123.96 billion, up 14.2% year on year. In the first seven months of this year, despite the impact of the epidemic, the trade volume between the two countries increased by 0.7% over the same period last year, reaching 68.4 billion US dollars.
"The cornerstone of Malaysia China relations is very solid." Nusirwan said that not long ago, Malaysia changed its government, "but no matter who is on the stage, we have a very clear and strong understanding that we must have good relations with China." At the same time, he criticized the international argument that China has been engaged in "mask diplomacy" and "vaccine diplomacy" to export influence in recent months. He said that Malaysia would only regard the donation and mutual assistance between China and Malaysia as "friendship between two fraternal countries", and "does not buy into this argument".