Ge Hongliang

Ge Hongliang

Deputy Director, College of ASEAN Studies, Guangxi University for Nationalities

Ge Hongliang is deputy director of the College of ASEAN Studies, Guangxi University for Nationalities and a senior research fellow of the Charhar Institute.

A boy sits on a bench on Batu Burok beach in Kuala Terengganu, in Malaysia by the South China Sea, on 26 June 2020. (Mohd Rasfan/AFP)

[South China Sea] Is Malaysia adopting a more confrontational SCS policy? 

In recent years, Malaysia seems to have moved away from its role as a “low-profile pragmatist” in the South China Sea dispute as it seeks to assert its rights over oil and gas exploration in the disputed waters, and as its threat perceptions of China increase. It looks set to continue butting heads with China amid the ongoing global pandemic and increasing US-China competition in the region.