No war between China and Malaysia

The mere mention of the South China Sea these days conjures up an image of confrontation between China and rival claimants, military or otherwise. So many heads were turned following a leak of a diplomatic note from China to the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing calling on Kuala Lumpur to stop all drilling in the South China Sea. But we should not deduce that the Sino-Malaysian relationship is about to go south, argues Phar Kim Beng.

This is for several reasons, such as the two sides having developed the necessary channels of communication to handle friction, and that Malaysia has been the coordinator of the China-ASEAN relationship since last August.

This is illustrated by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim taking to using the word "discussion" to replace "negotiation" with China. While this does not hint at any short or long term solutions, neither is it a sign of China and Malaysia engaging in a war of words, let alone their militaries coming to blows.