A Study Of Malaysia’s China Policy In The Disputes Of South China Sea

Recently the maritime and territorial disputes in the South China Sea haveattracted a lot of public concern around the world. Because of the various claimantsand asymmetry of power in the area, the disputes have grew to a systematicinternational political problem. From different perspectives, we will have differentunderstandings about the disputes. Based on the the realistic assumptions of theanarchy, the state is unitary and limited rationality actor, this paper is to analyze howthe disputes in the South China Sea influence the political and diplomatic relationsamong the states related. Based on the neoclassical realism in particular, this paperexplores the influencing factors about Malaysia’s China policy while in the SouthChina Sea disputes. This paper consists of five parts:The first chapter introduces the backgrounds and the purpose and significance ofthe study, summarizes related literatures, and presents the research methods andframework of the study;The second chapter reviews and analyses the theories and doctrines about theconducts of states under a threating circumstance. Following the theory ofbalance-of-power, the states prone to take actions of balancing or bandwagoningwhen facing uncertain “threats”. However, Malaysia’s responses and behaviors in theSouth China Sea disputes contradicts the doctrines;The third chapter elaborates the related factors influencing Malaysia’s responsesand policies towards China from the structural level and domestic level respectively;The fourth chapter analyses Malaysia’s hedging strategy and the influences ofthe policy on Sino-Malaysia relations;The last chapter concludes major findings and presents a brief expectation uponSino-Malaysia relations in the future.