WITH tensions rising between the US and China, an academic urged Malaysia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) took take heed of the geopolitical changes taking place while dealing with domestic issues.
“Malaysia and Asean must take
note. The continued civil unrest in Myanmar, as well as the impact of the
COVID-19 outbreak, may lead to Asean countries to pay less attention to the
rising discord between the US and China,” HELP University Faculty of Business,
Economics and Accounting and Institute Crime and Criminology senior lecturer R
Paneir Selvam told FocusM.
Since last month, the US and
its allies have escalated measures to contain China’s rise as a global power,
which the latter have noticed and took counter-measures.
Last month, Japan’s Deputy
Defense Minister, Yasuhide Nakayama warned of a growing threat presented by the
growing Sino-Russian ties, adding it was important for global powers do
something about Beijing’s pressure on Taiwan and safeguard the island “as a
democratic country”.
Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister
Taro Aso also stated earlier this month that in the event of a major conflict,
Japan and the US would have to defend Taiwan, as reported in Kyoto news portal.
On July 14, the US Senate
unanimously passed a legislation to prohibit the import of products from
China’s Xinjiang region. The leaders of G7, in a joint statement at the end of
a three-day summit last month, urged China to “respect human rights and
fundamental freedoms” of the people of Xinjiang.
However, China shot back at
them, saying their accusations of human rights abuses were unfounded and urged
G7 leaders to stop meddling in the country’s internal affairs.
It is note that both US and
Japan became close allies after World War 2. While the latter’s pacifist
Constitution bars its military from operating outside country, Japan has beefed
up its defense capabilities in the last decade due to the rise of China, with
Washington’s nod.
China have long claimed rights
over Taiwan as part of the nation, adding that it would not hesitate to use
force to take back the island should its leadership declare independence.
US shifting focus to the
Pacific, China countering
Elaborating on the matter, the
US and its allies’ recent statements indicate that the tension between them and
China were getting serious and more visible, as opposed in the past.
“While many are calling the
US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan as the superpower’s failure, it is not
necessarily the case.
“It actually indicates that
the US is charting a new dimension to hold tight to its hegemony over the
world.
“By maintaining a minimal
presence in Afghanistan and requesting assistance from regional countries to
maintain peace and security there, they are signalling that their focus is
shifting elsewhere, or in this case, China,” Paneir Selvam opined.
Providing evidence that the US
was now shifting its focus to this region, the academic said that it has named
its movements in the Pacific as Operation Pacific Iron.
He added that Americans only
adds the label “operation” when it involves elements of military movements or
deployment.
“Remember, the US Government’s
official term for the Global War on Terrorism was Operation Enduring Freedom
(OEF).
“And Operation Desert Storm
was a military campaign to drive occupying Iraqi soldiers out of Kuwait, which
Iraq had invaded and occupied a few months before back in the 1990s,” Paneir
Selvam noted.
Coming back to the Asean
equation, he urged member nations to reemphasise the Zone of Peace, Freedom,
and Neutrality (ZOPFAN) proclamation made in 1971.
“Based on the Bandung Principles
agreed upon at the 1955 Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung, Indonesia, the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was formally created in 1961 at the Belgrade Summit.
“One of the ten principles of
the Bandung Principles is non-use of collective defense pacts to benefit
specific interests of any of the global powers. It also stressed on the non-use
of pressure by any country against another,” he reminded.
Despite having close political
and economic ties with the US, Japan and China, Paneir Selvam reiterated the
need for Asean to remind big powers of its neutrality and will not allow the
region to be used as a launch pad to attack other countries.
“As for Malaysia, we have
close cooperation with all the countries mentioned. While we have recently
leaned towards China for economic reasons, this should not impact our decision
later on.
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