Some opined that Malaysia should exert her partnership in the Five Power Defence Agreement, which is a half century of Defence brotherhood and alliance as a short term solution to ‘flex some muscle’, in the heightening of seemingly military threats and brewing geo-political issues in South China Sea.
The past twelve years China PLA-Navy has been incrementally aggressive in the unsubstantiated claims of the ‘Nine-Dash-Line’, which include the construction of nine naval stations for the use of PLA-Navy with facilities for nuclear submarine operations.
It is understood that not Malaysia’s policy to be directly aggressive as a reciprocity and escalate and perpetuate the tension in the area.
However, to invoke FDPA exercises regularly as a show of force, where Malaysia’s military alliance with Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand remain strong and effective.
The Daily Mail Online story:
Big Lizzie will confront China: £3bn aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth ‘will be deployed to the Far East to take part in military drills with US and Japan’
By James Robinson for MailOnline01:14 14 Jul 2020, updated 10:42 14 Jul 2020
HMS Queen Elizabeth expected to visit the Far East during grand maiden voyage
The £3billion aircraft carrier will reportedly carry out joint military exercises
It comes amid growing political tension between the government and Beijing
Ministry of Defence says no decision has yet been taken on carrier’s deployment
One of Britain’s new £3billion aircraft carriers could be sent to the Far East under new plans drawn up by military chiefs, reports today suggest.
The class leading HMS Queen Elizabeth is expected to visit the region during its maiden grand voyage next year.
The aircraft carrier is set to be involved in joint military exercises with allies such as the United States and Japan during the visit, according to the Times today.
The move is likely to be seen as a counter to China‘s increasingly assertive attitude in the region and beyond.
And the reports of the voyage comes amid growing tension between London and Beijing, as well as the government’s row over whether to include Chinese tech firm Huawei over security fears and growing pressure from America to exclude them from the process.
This map shows China’s territorial claim in the South China Sea (in red), which the US yesterday described as ‘unlawful’. Marked in blue are US bases in Okinawa off Japan and in Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, and Sembawang wharf in Singapore where Britain’s Royal Navy maintains a presence. The diagram on the right shows the carrier strike group of HMS Queen Elizabeth, which will reportedly be deployed to the region in 2021
On its Far East voyage The Queen Elizabeth is to be accompanied by other warships, including two Type 45 destroyers and two frigates, while it will also have two squadrons of F-35B Lightning II jets.
It is likely one of those squadrons will be from the RAF while the other could be from the US Marine Corps, the Times reports.
As well as taking part in military exercises, the carrier, which along with its sister ship HMS Prince of Wales is the largest ever built by the British Navy, will also provide a platform for trade talks, the Times, quoting an unnamed defence source, reports.
The HMS Prince of Wales, which also cost £3billion, is said to be around 18 months behind its sister ship in terms of deployment.
Once completed, defence chiefs hope to base one of the carriers in the Indo-Pacific region.
A source told the Times: ‘One carrier will support Nato in the North Atlantic.
The HMS Prince of Wales (pictured) is said to be around 18 months behind its sister ship in terms of deployment.It is likely one of those squadrons of F-35B fighter jets (pictured) will be from the RAF while the other could be from the US Marine Corps, the Times reports
‘Where else are you going to put the other? On the main trade routes and to counter the emerging threat of China.’
Meanwhile the Ministry of Defence last night said ‘no decision’ had been taken on the HMS Queen Elizabeth’s deployment.
**********
There has been some uneasiness of Malaysia’s seemingly nonchalant attitude in the current heightening issues in South China Sea.
South China Morning Post story:
US-China tensions: why is Malaysia so quiet about the South China Sea?
Malaysia and Brunei have been less vocal than Vietnam and the Philippines in questioning China’s maritime claims, even after Mike Pompeo’s statement
The Malaysian foreign minister has come under fire for claiming Chinese ships have not intruded into the country’s waters for the past 100 days
Malaysia’s South China Sea policy has come under the spotlight after a public rebuke of its foreign minister Hishammuddin Hussein by one of his predecessors Anifah Aman, and as Washington hardens its position against Beijing over the disputed waterway.
Anifah, who was foreign minister for nine years until the downfall of ex-leader Najib Razak’s government in the May 2018 election, admonished Hishammuddin on Thursday for saying Chinese ships had not intruded into Malaysian waters for the past 100 days.
Satellite images and sightings clearly indicated otherwise, said Anifah and analysts.
“I am appalled by the [Foreign] Minister’s statement. He is either in denial or ignorant of the fact. Worse, he is playing politics with Malaysia’s maritime and strategic interests,” said Anifah, a serving parliamentarian from Hishammuddin’s party.
Hishammuddin took on his portfolio in March when the Perikatan Nasional coalition came to power following a political scandal that tore apart the Pakatan Harapan administration that won the May 2018 polls. He was previously the defence minister in Najib’s government.
“So how did we manage this? This is between us and the Chinese leadership … my stand is very clear, we will not compromise on our sovereignty,” national news agency Bernama quoted him as telling a media conference in parliament.
It comes as ministers fear China could unleash a devastating online attack on Britain – dubbed a ‘cyber-9/11’ – amid increasing tensions between London and Beijing.
************
It is not clear if Wisma Putra is working this up, as part of the short-mid term plan to resolve the heightening tension in South East Asia and it is complementary or not to the US Navy Seventh Fleet operations in the area.
Perhaps getting help from friends is necessary to ward off the bully.
This is something Foreign Minister Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Hussein should do, quietly without media attention.
Response to the Press Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs on 16 July 2020
I refer to the Press Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, YB Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein on 16 July 2020.
I would like to thank the Minister for taking time out of his busy schedule to respond to my statement.
While I appreciate the Minister’s clarification, West Capella was not mentioned at any point during his Press Conference or in the many news reports following the Press Conference.
Therefore it was unbecoming on the part of the Minister to state that I misunderstood what he had said when he himself should be blamed for not being clear and transparent in his statement.
And if Malaysia’s position on the South China Sea has not changed, what prevents the Minister from openly and categorically register our displeasure on the activities of the Chinese survey vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8 and its flotilla in Malaysia’s maritime areas in April and May; and why the Ministry has not responded or replied to the note verbale from the People’s Republic of China objecting Malaysia Partial Submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
Otherwise Malaysia’s consistent and principled position of not recognising China’s claims over Malaysia’s maritime areas in the South China Sea would be jeopardised.
Malaysia is an independent sovereign country that is a friend to all, and enemy to none. China is one of our closest partners and through my experience, I have had my fair share engaging with China’s Foreign Minister, and raised our concerns on matters relating to the peace, security and stability in the South China Sea, although I must say that it was not always smooth. Indeed, it takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemy, but a great deal more to stand up to one of your closest friends as China is indeed one of our closest friends.
Having said that I must congratulate the current Foreign Minister for being able to strengthen bilateral relations within 100 days by just phone and video calls. A job that I as a Foreign Minister for over 9 years did through travelling, meetings, negotiations, lobbying other Foreign Ministers, Prime Ministers, Presidents and Royals to strengthen relations on various aspects. I salute the new Foreign Minister for being able to do what I was not able to in just 100 days via telephone and video calls only.
DATUK SERI PANGLIMA ANIFAH HAJI AMAN
17 July 2020
********
Anifah who was the Foreign Minister for nine years under Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak, is outrightly telling off Foreign Minister Hishammuddin through this media banter.
Foreign Minister Hishammuddin is pussy-footing on a very serious matter which is challenging Malaysia’s sovereignty, right of maritime passage, exclusive economic zone and source of food, with his diplomatic statement.
The Star story:
M’sia all for peaceful solution on South China Sea matters, says Hisham
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia reiterates its stand in calling for a peaceful resolution to matters related to the South China Sea, says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (pic).
He said this must be done based on universally recognised principles of international law.
Hishammuddin also said Malaysia maintained its position that all parties must work together to ensure peace, security and stability in the South China Sea.
“Malaysia will also continue to play an active role in ensuring that the South China Sea remains a sea of peace and trade, ” he said in a statement on Thursday (July 16).
The minister said that as a claimant state, Malaysia always maintained a consistent stand and commitment in the issue of the South China Sea.
“We are firm in our commitment to safeguard our sovereignty, sovereign rights and interests in the South China Sea. Malaysia’s national interests remain paramount, ” he said.
He was commenting on a statement by the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling China’s claims across most of the South China Sea as “completely unlawful”.
On another matter, Hishammuddin said his earlier comments on China’s military encroaching into Sabah and Sarawak waters in the South China Sea was in reference to activities at West Capella which had been managed during his first 100 days in the ministry.
He said the vessels, comprising a Chinese survey vessel, the accompanying Chinese Coast Guard and fishing militia, were present in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from April to May, and left after diplomatic efforts.
“Regarding the statement by the former foreign minister, our position on the South China Sea has not changed from the time he led Wisma Putra.
“In fact, if he knew the context of my statement regarding West Capella activities as clarified, I am certain he would not have misunderstood and reacted the way he did, ” he added.
West Capella is a Malaysian-contracted drillship in the South China Sea.
Former Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman was reported to have criticised Hishammuddin’s claim that there had been no further encroachment in South China Sea, saying that the minister was either “in denial or ignorant of the facts”.
He said Hishammuddin must be more assertive in defending Malaysia’s sovereignty against continued China’s encroachment.
He was asked to comment on the recent Auditor-General’s Report that China’s military encroached into Sabah and Sarawak waters 89 times from 2016 to 2019.
***********
The South China Morning Post story:
Will South China Sea’s rival claimants be emboldened by US policy shift?
Washington’s policy shift on the South China Sea could embolden Southeast Asian claimant states to take on China with legal action, observers say, after the US rejected most of Beijing’s claims in the strategic waterway as “unlawful” this week.
While avoiding being seen to be taking sides, some of China’s neighbours said in a statement after the US remarks that Beijing should follow international law in relation to the South China Sea.
Tensions over the resource-rich region have been rising, with both Southeast Asian nations and the United States saying China was to blame because of its infrastructure and military build-up there. The US, which is not a claimant state, has meanwhile stepped up its military presence, sending warships and aircraft to the disputed waters to keep tabs on China’s activities.
The situation escalated on Monday, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying the US formally opposed Chinese claims to waters within the so-called nine-dash line that encompasses almost all of the South China Sea – in line with a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal at The Hague.
Elizabeth Economy, director of Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in the US, said Pompeo’s statement signalled that Washington would reinforce its support of the tribunal ruling and would “likely encourage other countries to more actively support the ruling as well”.https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html?n=0
By rejecting China’s maritime claims, the US was serving the “interests of those who want the [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea] to be the basis for determining maritime rights in the South China Sea”, according to retired US Navy Rear Admiral Michael McDevitt.
“What Washington wants is for [China] to just follow accepted international law, which includes UNCLOS,” said McDevitt, a senior fellow with CNA Strategic Studies.
That UN convention was the basis for the case filed by the Philippines with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2012.
It challenged the legality of China’s claims to waters based on the “nine-dash line” that appears on official Chinese maps and encircles much of the South China Sea. The tribunal invalidated those claims in 2016, ruling in favour of the Philippines, but China has refused to recognise the decision.
Four years on, Vietnam is mulling legal action to assert its maritime claim. Its deputy foreign minister Le Hoai Trung said Hanoi would prefer to negotiate, but other measures such as mediation, arbitration and litigation would not be ruled out. In May, Hanoi nominated four arbitrators and four conciliators, a sign it could soon file a complaint.
After the remarks from Pompeo and Stilwell, Vietnam’s foreign ministry released a statement of its own. It did not name the US, but said “respecting the legal order at the sea and implementing [the UN convention] in full and with good faith” was critical.The under-the-radar South China Sea projects Beijing uses to cement its claims
Manila-based academic Richard Heydarian said the US statement had “major operational implications”, especially for US allies like the Philippines, as it offered clarification of America’s commitment in the South China Sea.
“In the event that China engages in a provocative or aggressive unilateral action against Filipino vessels or troops in the area, then you can make the legal argument that the Pentagon has to intervene on the Philippines’ behalf,” he said.
Heydarian said Vietnam could launch a legal challenge against China’s claim after Hanoi’s new leadership is confirmed next year. “Vietnam is ready for it. It’s just a matter of the political decision by the Vietnamese leadership,” he said.
*********
Many opined that Malaysia should have a tough stand against China imperialous tendency to control South China through the unsubstantiated ‘Nine-Dash-Line’.
Malaysia should utilitise her International and regional influence for a multi lateral talks as a solution agreeable between claimants of the unsubstantiated ‘Nine-Dash-Line’, in accordance to the UNCLOS 1982.
Protecting the sovereignty, economic and territorial interests of the nation, including the maritime passage and rights to fishery and mineral extraction as part of the Economic Exclusive Zone which is enacted in Parliament as Act 311 1984 and UN Convention Law of the Seas 1982, is the paramount duty of His Majesty’s Government.
Geo-politics is a very complicated game with variables that would have strategic effect on nations like Malaysia, if not properly played and handled before it is worsened
The Star story:
Hisham: Malaysia will not compromise on South China Sea sovereignty
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will not compromise on its sovereignty in the South China Sea, says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
“My stand is clear. We will not compromise on our sovereignty,” he told reporters during a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday (July 15).
He assured that the naval vessels from both China and the United States are no longer in Malaysian waters.
“It a geopolitical issue between the two superpowers of US and China. Let them sort it out,” he added.
“Even if we resolve the posturing between the two superpowers, we still need to resolve the overlapping claims between neighbours,” said the former defence minister.
He said that it was important for Malaysia and Asean to play an intermediary role to find an amicable solution to the issue.
“My personal fear is that could be an incident or accident that could lead to war. We have to avoid military posturing as it will not help the situation,” he added.
Hishamuddin acknowledged that Malaysia had previously sent protest notes over China’s encroachment of its waters.
He was asked to comment on the recent Auditor-General’s Report report that China’s military encroached into Sabah and Sarawak waters in the South China Sea 89 times from 2016 to 2019.
********
The latest development of China’s People Liberation Army-Navy manoeuvres in the South China Sea as part of the Asia’s Superpower imperious tendency of unsubstantiated claim of the ‘Nine-Dash-Line’, is very worrying.
The South China Morning Post
Beijing should change tack on South China Sea to avoid conflict with US, analyst says
As relations deteriorate and Washington toughens its stance, the contested waterway is likely to be a flashpoint, regional security expert says
Managing tensions with its Southeast Asian neighbours is seen as a key task
Beijing needs to reassess its strategies in the South China Sea as relations with Washington are in free fall and the disputed waterway is likely to be a flashpoint, a Chinese regional security expert says.
While policy advisers will be looking at different scenarios for the protracted struggle between the two superpowers in the region, managing tensions with its Southeast Asian neighbours was a key task for Beijing, according to Chen Xiangmiao, an associate researcher with the National Institute for South China Sea Studies on Hainan Island.
“If there is a maritime clash with [rival claimants] Vietnam, Malaysia or the Philippines, the US will have an excuse to step in, and that could trigger a direct military conflict between China and the US,” Chen said.
“[But] as long as the rival claimants can exercise restraint and don’t take sides between China and the US, I think the risk of conflict can remain under control.”
Chen’s assessment came as Washington toughened its stance on the South China Sea, raising concerns about the possibility of military conflict between Beijing and Washington – already at loggerheads over issues ranging from trade to human rights and Hong Kong.
“We used to say that the South China Sea issue could affect overall Sino-US relations. But now the South China Sea issue has become [part of Washington’s] comprehensive strategy to contain China,” Chen said. “China will need to examine the relationship between the South China Sea issue and overall Sino-US ties.”
He continued: “Is decoupling [between China and the US] possible? My assessment is that it is not likely. But if the relationship between China and the US continues to worsen, then the South China Sea issue could become the tipping point that leads to a [military] clash.”
According to Chen, Beijing needed to prepare for the US taking a tougher approach, including more flexing of its military muscle in the strategic waterway and pressing its regional partners and allies to take a stronger stand against China.
In one scenario, Chen said the US could send its coastguard in response to what it sees as a growing threat from China’s “grey zone” operations by coastguard vessels and maritime militia, which Beijing has been accused of using to expand its presence in the South China Sea.
Chen said likely countermeasures from Beijing included setting up an air defence identification zone in the South China Sea and accelerating its infrastructure-building in the disputed waters
“[China’s actions will] depend on the perceived threat from the US,” Chen said. “If the US or rival claimants such as Vietnam make any unilateral move, I wouldn’t rule out any possibility.”
Zhang Mingliang, a Southeast Asian affairs expert with Jinan University in Guangzhou, said Beijing needed to improve relations with its neighbours, and that could include providing public services.
********
However, Al Jazeera reported that China’s own historical records debunked their claims for the disputed territories.
China’s own records debunk ‘historic rights’ over disputed seas
Experts say official Chinese documents belie ‘nine-dash line’ as Beijing asserts dominance in South China Sea.
Having secured the allegiance of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during a state visit to Beijing in 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping returned the favour when he visited Manila in 2018 promising a new chapter in the two nations’ diplomatic ties and vowing to turn the disputed South China Sea into “a sea of peace”.
In a published message to Filipinos just before his trip, Xi recalled how more than 600 years ago, Chinese explorer Zheng He “made multiple visits to the Manila Bay, Visayas and Sulu” areas during his “seven overseas voyages seeking friendship and cooperation”.
The suggestion was that China had been in contact with the archipelago long before Europeans arrived naming it Las Islas Filipinas after Spain’s King Felipe II. It was also a way for Xi to bolster China’s claims in the South China Sea based on its ‘nine dash line’ and long contested by the Philippines, as well as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.
The problem is that the evidence suggests Zheng never set foot in the future Philippine islands.
“All the scholars all over the world are unanimous: Zheng He never visited the Philippines,” Antonio Carpio said in an online lecture earlier this month. He called Xi’s anecdote “totally false”. The former Philippine Supreme Court justice also presented other official Chinese records that debunk Beijing’s “historic maritime rights” over the South China Sea – thereby raising new questions about its standing in the region as tensions escalate.
On Monday, the US raised the stakes saying “Beijing’s claims to offshore resources” across most of the disputed seas were “completely unlawful”. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added that the world would “not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire.” In response, Beijing accused Washington of unnecessarily inflaming the situation.
Earlier, the US deployed the warships, USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan to assert what it calls its freedom of navigation in the waters. A sailor on one of the ships told Al Jazeera that the operations could last for weeks. China held a large-scale naval exercise in the area from July 1 to 5.
‘History vs facts on the ground’
Historical records may not favour China in the continuing debate on the control of the South China Sea, through which as much as $5.3tn in global trade passes annually.
Refuting the Chinese president’s claim, Carpio, the Filipino legal scholar, presented evidence from China’s own Naval Hydrographic Institute, chronicling Zheng’s visit to the then Cham Kingdom of central Vietnam. A translation mixup of the kingdom’s Chinese name, incorrectly referred to it later as a Philippine island.
A 2019 Ancient History Encyclopedia article also traced Zheng’s expeditions in the early 1400s as far as the Arabia and Africa, but nowhere in the story did it mention Zheng’s supposed visit to the Philippines.
A map of ancient China dating back to the Tang Dynasty shows that the island of Hainan was the country’s southernmost territory [State Bureau of Cultural Relics of China via the presentation of Philippine Justice Antonio Carpio]
To further disprove China’s claim of “historic rights”, Carpio presented several ancient Chinese maps, dating as far back as 800 and 900 years ago during the Song and Tang dynasties. All the maps showed that China’s southernmost territory was the island of Hainan.
Additionally, the 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China, also identified Hainan as the country’s southernmost part, raising questions over what would later emerge as the “nine-dash line” claim.
Regardless of the historical evidence, the reality is that China already “controls almost all the facts on the ground”, said Thomas Benjamin Daniel, senior foreign policy expert at Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic and International Studies. It is clear that Beijing now has “real and credible foothold” in the South China Sea, he told Al Jazeera.
Still, Daniel and other analysts are urging China and other stakeholders in the region, to abide by the principles and spirit of international law, to keep the peace and avoid situations that would lead “down a very dangerous road.”
‘Nine-dash line’
For years, China has anchored its South China Sea claims on the “nine-dash line”, under which it lays claim to almost 90 percent of the disputed waters as far south as the coasts of Malaysian Borneo and Brunei. Images published by China showed the imaginary line almost hogging the shores of neighbouring countries.
Using the controversial line, Beijing has been ramping up activities in the South China Sea, starting with the Paracels in the 1970s and 1980s, the Spratlys in the 1990s, and the Scarborough Shoal in the early 2000s.
Chester Cabalza, a security analyst and fellow at the National Defence University in Beijing, said China has been strategic in approaching the “South China Sea conundrum”. He added that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has only provided the country even more opportunities to advance its interests.
“It seems like China is winning,” he told Al Jazeera, noting how it has militarised the disputed waters by developing rocks and atolls into islands in recent years.
ISIS Malaysia’s Daniel added that China “is playing the long game”, as it attempts to solidify and “normalise” its regional maritime position.
The Hague ruling
Beijing’s approach encountered resistance in 2016 with the landmark ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which declared China’s “historic rights” had no legal basis.
The ruling also said that the rocks and the partly submerged features, on which China had built its naval and aerial facilities, were within the 200 nautical miles (370.4km) Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, as defined by the UN. Those zones allow only the Philippines to fish and explore any natural resources although foreign vessels are allowed safe passage.
The court also automatically established the EEZs of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam, boosting their own positions in relation to China.
Furthermore, the court said China’s reclaimed areas and artificial islands were not entitled to a 12-mile (22.2km) territorial sea, because they were not habitable in their original form. As such, freedom of navigation and overflight are allowed in those areas.
It has continued to expand its facilities in the South China Sea regardless, including a three km (1.86 miles) military-grade runway, barracks and radars on Mischief Reef, which is within the Philippine EEZ.
Maritime incidents have also escalated, and in April a Vietnamese boat was sunk; an incident blamed on a Chinese surveillance vessel. All eight firshermen survived. In June 2019, at least 22 Filipino fishermen were almost left to drown when their fishing boat was rammed under suspicious circumstances by an alleged Chinese militia boat. They were later rescued by Vietnamese fishermen.
On Tuesday, Malaysia revealed that Chinese coastguard and navy ships were recorded to have encroached into its waters at least 89 times between 2016 and 2019. Earlier this year, there were also reports of a Chinese government survey ship “tagging” a Malaysian oil-exploration vessels within the Malaysian EEZ.
Cabalza, of the National Defence University in Beijing, described China’s behaviour as “schizophrenic”, as it tries to employ confrontation and cooperation in dealing with its neighbours.
‘Code of Conduct’
As part of its effort to defuse tensions in the region, the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been pressing China for years to reach agreement on the so-called Code of Conduct, which would govern countries’ behaviour in the South China Sea.
Differences between members – some of whom have no claim to the sea but are close to China – mean there has been has little headway.
Cabalza says the 10-nation bloc must present a more unified voice before it takes on China, which prefers bilateral negotiation, adding that ASEAN nations “should not become submissive” in negotiating an equitable deal with Beijing.
On June 26, ASEAN leaders held a virtual summit hosted by Vietnam, in which they declared that the 1982 United Nations oceans treaty should be foundation of sovereign rights and entitlements in the South China Sea. However, the leaders were unable to make significant progress on the Code of Conduct.
Daniel of ISIS-Malaysia says he is “not very optimistic” that an agreement can be reached soon in order to help ease tension.
“ASEAN is an Association of 10 member states with different national and foreign priorities, that makes decisions based on consensus. Consensus here often means the lowest common denominator.”
In the absence of a consensus, the increased presence of the United States in the South China Sea could prove a useful counterweight.
Daniel said the “marked increase” of US freedom of navigation operations and sharper rhetoric, show that Washington wanted to remain relevant in the region.
On Wednesday, Pompeo issued another statement saying the US would “support countries all across the world who recognise that China has violated their legal territorial claims as well – or maritime claims as well.”
Meanwhile, Carpio said all navies from around the world should be encouraged to sail through the South China Sea and exercise freedom of navigation – to deliver a message to Beijing that it does not control the area.
He also urged Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam to help the Philippines in explaining that China’s claim of “historic right” is “totally false.”
“We should continue resorting to the rule of law, because we have no other choice,” Carpio said.
“War is not an option.”
********
Former Former Minister Dato Seri Panglima Anifah Amah opined that issues pertaining to the ‘Nine-Dash-Line’ claim by China should not be taken lightly and Malaysia should be stern and decisive on their position:
Press Statement by YBhg Datuk Seri Panglima Anifah Haji Aman on the Recent News Reports Quoting That There Was No Further Enroachment By Chinese Vessels into Malaysia’s Maritime Areas in the South China Sea and cara bagaimana kita lakukannya, is between us and the leadership in China”.
I read with great interest the many news reports that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, YB Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussien had stated on 15 July 2020 that since he took over as the Foreign Minister of Malaysia, there was no further encroachment by Chinese vessels into Malaysia’s maritime areas in the South China Sea, and “cara bagaimana kita lakukannya, is between us and the leadership in China”.
I am appalled by the Minister’s statement. He is either in denial or ignorant of the fact. Worst, he is playing politics with Malaysia’s maritime and strategic interests.
It was only in April that a flotilla of Chinese enforcement vessels was sighted accompanying a Chinese survey vessel within Malaysia maritime areas. Further, I was reliably informed that Chinese coast guard vessels were sighted in the vicinity of Beting Patinggi Ali in May, June and July.
As a country that legitimately owns maritime areas in the South China Sea, the Government should not be hesitant to categorically state its objection to any unauthorised activities by foreign vessels within its maritime areas. If the Ministry of Foreign Affairs finds it appropriate to issue statement on 25 June and 12 July on the drone and missile attacks towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, surely it would not be too much to expect the Ministry to at least summon the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to register Malaysia’s displeasure on the unauthorised activities by the Chinese coast guard vessels within Malaysia’s maritime areas in the South China Sea.
Malaysia has never recognised China’s claims over its maritime areas in the South China Sea and the Government must uphold the position to ensure Malaysia’s maritime and strategic interests are not jeopardised. Failing to do so is a great disservice to the nation. Being firm in safeguarding, protecting and promoting Malaysia’s maritime and strategic interests does not mean we need to be confrontational. What we need to do is to ensure full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, and uphold the supremacy of the rule of law in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
As I have stated many times, we must not be indecisive in defending our rights and interests, and a consistent principled position would stand us in good stead for the long term.
DATO’ SERI PANGLIMA ANIFAH HAJI AMAN 16 July 2020
********
Wisma Putra should no longer be wishy-washy on the matter and act now, in the best interests of Malaysia and Malaysians.
The election of Dato’ Azhar “Art” Azizan @ Harun as the Speaker of the XIV Parliament has it precedence from the election of immediate past Speaker Tan Sri Mohamed Ariff Mohamad Yusoff.
Upon the XIV Parliament being established on 8 June 2018 after the historical 14GE on 9 May 2018, the only nominated candidate of the Speaker of Dewan Rakyat automatically assumed the position and job in the absence of another candidate.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin nominated Azhar to replace Arif, which coincidentally was out voted by 111-109 in the order of items when the current sitting convened on Monday 13 July 2020.
Art was a practicing barrister before appointed as Chairman of the Election Commission.
The Opposition, namely MPs of Pakatan Harapan were quick to manifest their natural disrespect of authority including the Speaker of Dewan Rakyat.
Speaker Art Harun summarily ejected Shah Alam MP Khalid Abdul Samad, who was rudely interrupting the former’s maiden address to the House.
It is expected that Opposition MPs continue to act and behave rudely and gross disrespect to the decorum, for their political stunts through remaining of the XIV Parliament sittings.
Work to strengthen the current Perikatan Nasional Government, led by the tri-factor PPBM-UMNO-PAS and other parties, GPS, BN and Sabah parties is the most formidable and effective Malay executive leadership in half a century, should be systematically carried out and move towards the betterment of the Malay unification.
Astro Awani story:
Muhyiddin perlu kembali, diangkat sebagai Presiden UMNO – Nazri Aziz
Irwan Muhammad Zain, Astro Awani | Julai 08, 2020 12:49 +08 | Durasi: 1 minit, 29 saat
KUALA LUMPUR: Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin perlu kembali menyertai UMNO dan mengukuhkan parti terbesar orang Melayu itu, kata Ahli Parlimen UMNO, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.
Menurut Nazri, semua ahli dan pemimpin UMNO perlu bersikap terbuka dan menerima Muhyiddin kembali menyertai parti itu.
Kata beliau, dengan kembalinya Muhyiddin ke pangkuan UMNO, banyak masalah akan dapat diselesaikan antaranya pembahagian kerusi antara UMNO dan PAS.
“Muhyiddin tidak tinggalkan kita (UMNO) tetapi dipecat dan sekiranya beliau kembali, sumbangannya amat besar kerana bawa balik jawatan Perdana Menteri kepada UMNO.
“Tidak berbangkit apa akan jadi kepada Presiden UMNO kerana yang penting adalah parti, kita kena terima dengan tangan terbuka,” katanya kepada Astro AWANI.
Nazri mencadangkan sekiranya Muhyiddin kembali ke pangkuan UMNO, jawatan presiden parti juga diserahkan kepada Ahli Parlimen Pagoh itu.
Hujah beliau, secara tradisinya, Perdana Menteri merupakan Presiden UMNO dan pemimpin dan ahli parti perlu menerima dengan tangan terbuka.
“Kita sebagai orang Melayu kena sentiasa sedia bermaaf-maafan demi perjuangan agama, bangsa dan tanah air.
“Kita kena bagi jawatan Presiden UMNO sebab beliau kembali dengan bukan dengan tangan kosong tetapi dengan jawatan Perdana Menteri, kita kena terima, kena berkorban dan menerima dengan terbuka.
“Saya seorang anak Melayu, pada saya tidak ada pengorbanan yang tidak boleh kita lakukan demi agama dan bangsa kita,” katanya lagi.
***********
The former Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad, who is a champion of Malay issues and central core of Malay power in the mainstay Malaysian politics, also reiterated the same call.
Ismaweb:
TS Muhyiddin kembali kepada UMNO: Sokongan terhadap cadangan Ds Nazri Aziz
Bilangan, perpecahan parti Melayu, Islam berkurang, Bersatu terbubar
DATUK SERI Nazri Aziz telah mengeluarkan satu cadangan yang bernas, atau sekurang-kurangnya yang saya amat bersetuju. Maka, biarlah saya menjadi antara orang pertama yang menyokong beliau, jika tidak yang pertama pun. Terlebih dahulu, tahniah Datuk Seri.
Saya merujuk kepada kenyataan beliau yang dilaporkan oleh Astro Awani pada 08 07 2020 di mana beliau mencadangkan supaya Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin kembali semula kepada UMNO dan diangkat menjadi Presiden UMNO.
Beliau memberi empat alasan:
1. TS Muhyiddin tidak mengkhianati UMNO kerana beliau tidak meninggalkan parti, sebaliknya dipecat.
2. Ia akan mengukuhkan parti terbesar orang Melayu itu;
3. Beliau tidak akan kembali dengan tangan kosong tetapi dengan jawatan Perdana Menteri.
4. Ia akan dapat menyelesaikan masalah pembahagian kerusi di antara UMNO dengan PAS.
Beliau juga mencadangkan sekiranya TS Muhyiddin kembali ke pangkuan UMNO, jawatan Presiden parti juga patut diserahkan kepada Ahli Parlimen Pagoh itu.
Hujah beliau ialah, secara tradisinya, Perdana Menteri merupakan Presiden UMNO dan pemimpin dan ahli parti perlu menerima dengan tangan terbuka.
“Kita kena bagi jawatan Presiden UMNO sebab beliau kembali bukan dengan tangan kosong tetapi dengan jawatan Perdana Menteri, kita kena terima, kena berkorban dan menerima dengan terbuka.
Saya bersetuju sepenuhnya dengan beliau berkenaan tiga alasan yang pertama disebut di atas dan tidaklah perlu menambah.
Mengenai alasan keempat, sambil saya bersetuju ia akan mengurangkan masalah pembahagian kerusi antara UMNO dan PAS, ia juga akan mengurangkan masalah pembahagian kerusi UMNO dan Bersatu.
Itu penyelesaian masalah-masalah yang terdekat (immediate). Tidak kurang, jika tidak lebih, pentingnya ialah penyelesaian masalah jangka panjang yang lebih besar iaitu ia akan membantu menguatkan perpaduan Melayu.
Kita bincangkan perkara-perkara yang terdekat dahulu. Dalam perkara ini, saya merujuk pembaca kepada rencana saya bertajuk Pembahagian Kawasan Pilihan Raya Antara Parti-parti Komponen PN Dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke-15 (PRU15) (22 06 2020).
Ringkasnya, UMNO dan PAS adalah dua buah parti Melayu/Islam yang tertua, terbesar yang mempunyai sokongan akar umbi yang kukuh dan jentera pilihanraya yang teruji.
Walaupun Barisan Nasional (BN) kalah dalam PRU14, UMNO tetap menjadi parti yang memenangi bilangan kerusi terbanyak di Parlimen.
Sebahagian pengundi Melayu terpengaruh untuk mengundi PH kerana terpengaruh dengan kempen membenci DS Najib tanpa memikirkan akibatnya.
Ia tidak lebih daripada sifat Melayu yang marah mengikut emosi, tetapi setelah sejuk, melihat akibatnya, barulah berfikir semula dan menyesal. Bahawa ini telah berlaku disaksikan oleh enam kemenangan UMNO/BN dalam PRK yang terkebelakang.
Dalam PRU14, Bersatu menang kerana sokongan padu orang bukan Melayu, terutama sekali orang Cina, di samping orang Melayu yang marah itu dan kesilapan UMNO dan PAS bertanding melawan sama sendiri di kawasan yang ditandingi Bersatu. Itu pun Bersatu hanya mampu memenangi 18 kerusi.
Jika Bersatu bertanding sendiri dalam PRU15, ia akan terkubur. Ia tidak boleh mengharapkan undi orang bukan Melayu lagi. Di kawasan Melayu, ia tidak boleh mengatasi kombinasi UMNO+PAS.
Maka, ia akan terpaksa menumpang ihsan UMNO dan PAS. Kehadiran DS Azmin juga tidak membantu. Kumpulan beliau sendiri berada dalam keadaan yang sama.
Maka, kehadiran Bersatu dalam muafakat UMNO-PAS menambahkan lagi kesulitan pembahagian kerusi antara UMNO dan PAS dalam PRU15. Bagaimana masalah itu mungkin berkurangan jika TS Muhyiddin dan ahli-ahli Bersatu kembali kepada UMNO?
Dalam rencana saya itu, berdasarkan Bersatu kekal sebagai sebuah parti dalam PN, saya mencadangkan supaya UMNO+PAS sebagai satu kumpulan, menyelesaikan isu pembahagian kerusi itu dengan Bersatu terlebih dahulu sebelum membahagikan yang lainnya, di antara mereka.
Jika TS Muhyiddin dan ahli-ahli Bersatu menyertai UMNO, maka perlulah diselesaikan terlebih dahulu pembahagian antara UMNO dan PAS sebab hanya dua kumpulan sahaja yang tinggal iaitu UNMO (termasuk bekas Bersatu) dan PAS. Selepas itu terserahlah kepada pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO dan bekas Bersatu itu menentukan siapa akan bertanding di mana.
Saya fikir, kembalinya TS Muhyiddin dan ahli-ahli Bersatu kepada UMNO bukan lagi satu pilihan, tetapi satu-satunya jalan bagi Bersatu mengelak daripada terkubur. Hari ini, modal Bersatu hanya ada satu: jawatan Perdana Menteri. Tanpa jawatan itu ia akan jadi berkecai.
Selagi beliau dikehendaki dan dihormati, TS Muhyiddin eloklah menyediakan jalan keluar dengan terhormat. Belajarlah daripada kesilapan Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Saya fikir, seperti yang dicadangkan oleh DS Nazri, UMNO hendaklah menerimanya dengan tangan terbuka dan memberikan jawatan
Presiden UMNO kepada beliau sesuai dengan kedudukannya sebagai Perdana Menteri. Jika beliau tidak disingkir, saya fikir selepas Najib, besar kemungkinan beliaulah yang akan menjadi Presiden UMNO dan, jika BN menang pilihan raya umum, beliaulah yang akan menjadi Perdana Menteri.
Sekarang beliau membawa balik jawatan Perdana Menteri, maka eloklah jawatan Presiden UMNO diberi kepada beliau. Itu pun saya cadangkan hanya untuk satu penggal sahaja. Selepas itu, biarlah ada pertandingan bebas untuk jawatan itu.
Dengan cara itu, UMNO boleh disifatkan sebagai memberi pampasan kepada TS Muhyiddin akibat penyingkiran itu.
DS Najib sepatutnya menerima susunan itu. Beliau eloklah meneruskan apa yang dilakukannya sekarang. Tumpukan kepada kes-kes yang dihadapinya dan tolong memperkuatkan semula UMNO tanpa memegang jawatan eksekutif didalamnya.
Beliau tidak boleh lari daripada tanggungjawab menjadi sebab utama kekalahan UMNO/BN dalam PRU14. Eloklah beliau menghabiskan umurnya membina semula UMNO setelah beliau mendapat faedah daripada UMNO semenjak muda.
DS Zahid juga eloklah mengikut teladan DS Najib. Pada masa ini, eloklah beliau menumpukan perhatian kepada kes-kes yang dihadapinya. Eloklah beliau kosongkan dahulu jawatan Presiden UMNO untuk membolehkan TS Muhyiddin menyandangnya.
Jika TS Muhyiddin tidak disingkir, DS Zahid pun tidak boleh mimpi untuk menjadi Presiden UMNO.
Masakan beliau mampu mencabar TS Muhyiddin untuk jawatan Timbalan Presiden UMNO jika DS Najib masih memegang jawatan Presiden dan untuk jawatan Presiden, jika DS Najib telah mengosongkan jawatan Presiden UMNO. Itu pun hanya untuk satu penggal. Selepas itu, jika beliau telah berjaya membersihkan dirinya daripada segala pertuduhan terhadapnya, beliau boleh bertanding semula untuk jawatan Presiden.
Saya percaya pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO dan Bersatu juga kurang senang dengan susunan ini. Tetapi, alasan mereka adalah sama dan hanya satu: kepentingan diri.
Mereka khuatir mereka akan kehilangan kedudukan mereka dalam parti dan kemungkinan dilantik ke jawatan-jawatan dalam kerajaan tempatan, malah kemungkinan menjadi calon Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) dan Parlimen. Itu bukanlah alasan yang sepatutnya menjadi penentu dalam membuat keputusan sebesar itu.
Dalam membuat keputusan mengenai isu ini, fokus hendaklah diberi kepada perpaduan Melayu/Islam. Kita telah melihat, penubuhan Bersatu dan Amanah telah memecahkan orang Melayu/Islam di Semenanjung Malaysia kepada lima buah parti.
Kita telah melihat bagaimana ia merugikan orang Melayu, terutama sekali di bawah pemerintahan Pakatan Harapan (PH). Maka, dengan kembalinya TS Muhyiddin dan ahli-ahli Bersatu kepada UMNO diikuti dengan pembubaran Bersatu, kita dapat mengurangkan bilangan parti Melayu/Islam dan perpecahan orang Melayu/Islam.
Dalam tahun 2014, apabila saya mencadangkan kerjasama antara UMNO dan PAS untuk mengelakkan tumbangnya kerajaan BN di peringkat Persekutuan, seorang bekas Menteri Kanan BN (orang UMNO) berkata bahawa ia adalah terlalu idealistik.
Selepas PRU14, beliau meninggalkan UMNO dan menyertai Bersatu dan masih berada dalam Bersatu sekarang. Jika cadangan ini berlaku, beliau bolehlah kembali kepada UMNO semula. Yang pentingnya, apa yang dikatakannya sebagai terlalu idealistik itu telah berlaku, malah lebih daripada apa yang saya cadangkan. Kali ini ianya lebih mudah kerana, berlainan daripada Bersatu, PAS boleh berdiri di atas kaki sendiri, sedangkan Bersatu tidak.
Maka, inilah jalan yang terbaik bagi Bersatu, UMNO, perpaduan Melayu/Islam dan negara. Ia juga adalah jalan yang terbaik bagi pemimpin-pemimpin yang terlibat.
The combination and compromise of the Malay parties, which could be seen as a progression of Muafakat Nasional, a tight cooperation between UMNO and PAS inked on 10 Sept 2019 and already proven very encouraging and productive political results.
It could be taken a step further beyond the loose-cooperation of the Perikatan Nasional Government formed on 29 Feb 2020 after the self destruction of the Pakatan Harapan Government.
The last four months, the Perikatan Nasional Government of UMNO-PAS-PPBM and GPS, have proven against odds to get the country up and running again weathering through a global humanity crisis of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the global economic downturn that came with it.
The reunification of Malay power is key to take this further. Of course it would come with a series of compromise and restructuring of organisations.
The history of the Malays in power is about concession, compromise and restructuring and syndication of roles and stature.
When the British wanted a post WWII grasp of British Malaya hence the establishment of the Malayan Union on 1 April 1946 and reduced near absolute the power, position and role of the Malay Rulers, the common Malays rose and organise themselves through UMNO and vehemently reject this colonisation program to a point it failed miserably.
Then that got the British, represented by High Commissioner Edward Gent and the Malay Rulers to sit down and negotiate the structure to replace the Malayan Union.
UMNO was invited into these negotiations as observers and advisers to the Malay Rulers.
The Treaty of Malaya was inked on 21 Jan 1948 and came into effect on 1 Feb 1948 where the Federation of Malay States (Malaya) was born. The Treaty of Malaya later became the fundamental basis of the Constitution of the Federation Malaya as a sovereign nation, from 31 August 1957.
The mainstay of power in the hands of the Malays by no means and intent to deny the rights of others and/or impose them into being assimilated as a Malay.
The past two thousand years of history, especially the coastal trading nations, the Malays have proven themselves to be tolerant, accommodating and inclusive their nation building ways.
History has proven time and again that the amalgamations and consolidations with concessions made and comprise develop the civilisation into a more effective, productive and powerful force, be it commercially, political, diplomatic or military might.
Hence for the Malay central core powers to get together, sort out their difference, compromise and consolidate is a strategic move to move forward for the better of the Malays and the nation, hand-in-hand.
The compromise would be very painful too some but deemed necessary to move along and forward. Then again in the words of a social scientist and nationalist Prof Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Nordin Kardi, who became a Vice Chancellor of two separate Unis, “Perjuangan itu tiada erti tanpa pengorbanan”.
Of course to amalgamate and consolidate the Malays into a single column of political and administrative force with require many degrees of compromise and syndication of existing structures.
That is the challenge and price, for the Malays to come as one and under a single mother three. This three would be a big three and strong roots below, where everyone to find protection under it as well reap the fruits of it.
Now or within the next three months is the best time for the 15th General Election (15GE)
The MMO story:
Umno No 2 calls for fresh elections, cites Perikatan’s slim parliamentary majority as reason
Wednesday, 01 Jul 2020 10:13 PM MYT
BY YISWAREE PALANSAMY
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — Malaysia should go to the polls soon, Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said tonight in a “live” broadcast on the Umno Online Facebook page.
The Rantau assemblyman said the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government—of which Umno is a partner—is in a very fragile state due to its slim majority in Parliament, adding that because of this, the alliance is “under constant threat”.https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html?n=0
“For me, the Perikatan National government is a government which has a very slim majority. With a government like this, it is difficult for us to table policies in Parliament, because it [the government] is always under constant threat, and as I said, under siege.
“We as the government now, I, as someone from the party representing the government. I say that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has not much choices, because for me, I feel he too wants to see a new mandate. Otherwise, [he has] to get up every morning to see whether or not I still have my seats.
“We cannot afford to have a government like that. What more when people see, they would think what kind of country is this,” Mohamad said.
He added that Muhyiddin’s popularity rating as prime minister is currently high but won’t last long, given the government’s position now.
“Who would want to invest in a country where its [government] majority is too slim? That’s why I say we cannot wait long,” Mohamad said during the Kabor Chini talk show.
He also said that in the current situation, it would not be a difficult task for the Opposition to vote down policies.
“So what is the best way is to get a renewed mandate? I trust the people are able to evaluate,” he added.
At about the same time as Mohamad’s talk was livestreamed, Muhyiddin released a statement on his Facebook page expressing confidence that he holds the majority political support in the country, amid the Opposition’s attempts for an ouster.
The Bersatu president said the heads of 12 political parties attended a meeting in Putrajaya earlier and expressed support for his informal PN alliance.
Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali who is currently partyless, was listed as present at the meeting as the PN chief whip alongside Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin as Bersatu secretary-general.
**********
The Malaysian Government under Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Md Yassin for the past four months did very well to control here in Malaysia the global crisis of Covid-19 Pandemic.
This include the Special Aide worth RM250b in various stimulus packages to brace the impact of global economic downturn and later recovery in some of the critical sectors.
RM20b in cash have been dished to the much needed B40 and lower M40 and SME/Is.
However, the full brunt of the global economic downturn has not been fully realised and braced by Malaysians at microcosm level.
After all, the Opposition is at its lowest ebb as a pact, with amongst themselves not quite organised and the motley crew is in a helter skelter mode after Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad impulsively and summarily resigned a little over four months ago, mainly over the issue of ‘succession plan’.
The twelve Presidents of Perikatan Nasional met yesterday was a sign that they are preparing for the 15GE within short to medium term.
Astro Awani story:
Presiden parti yang menyokong PN zahir sokongan kepada Muhyiddin
Astro Awani | Julai 01, 2020 23:35 +08
PUTRAJAYA: : Ketua-ketua parti yang menyokong Kerajaan Perikatan Nasional (PN) mengadakan satu pertemuaan di Putrajaya pada Rabu.
Dalam satu kenyataan di Facebook, Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, yang juga Presiden Bersatu, memaklumkan semua pimpinan parti menzahirkan sokongan kepada beliau.
Katanya, mereka bermuafakat untuk memperkukuhkan persefahaman serta kerjasama demi kestabilan politik, kesejahteraan rakyat dan kemakmuran negara.
Yang turut hadir pada pertemuan itu ialah presiden UMNO, PAS, MCA, MIC, PBB, SUPP, PDP, PRS, PBS, PBRS dan STAR.
Mesyuarat selama dua jam itu turut dihadiri Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali sebagai Ketua Whip Kerajaan PN dan Setiausaha Agung Bersatu, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin.
***********
Even veteran politician/statesman issued a statement about the matter:
PRESS STATEMENT ON COVID PANDEMIC
2 JULY 2020
“Hope for the best, do our best but prepare for the worst”
By Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Member of Parliament1) Based on news reports, the Covid pandemic is of a global scale that seems frightening. More than 10 million people in the world are now infected and more than 500,000 people have died so far. The figures are still rising fast in many parts of the world. The known infections are based on those who have been tested positive. The real numbers could be many times higher since many infected people are known to have little or no signs (pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic) of Covid-19. 2) According to numerous news reports, this deadly virus (which is still mutating) attacks the victims’ immunity system (like Aids), cause blood clot and multi-organ failure, not just the lungs. New studies have shown that this virus also attacks the testicles of young males and causes heart attacks on young people. Patients who have recovered are not immune and can be re-infected. Some patients have reported having symptoms for three months. Many doctors and health officialsdo not know what else to expect next. 3) The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned on 26 June 2020 that millions of people could die in a second wave of infections which might have already started in other countries.4) WHO compared the current Covid pandemic with the Spanish Flu pandemic (caused by a H1N1 virus) of 1918/19 which infected more than 500 million people in a global population of 1.5 billion people then and which killed 50 million to 100 million people. The tragedy was that they could not find a vaccine. Eventually, most countries developed “herd immunity” to overcome the pandemic the “natural way”but with a huge human & economic cost.5) The last pandemic, the Swine Flu of 2009, by another strain of H1N1, which started in Mexico and US and affected most pig rearing countries, infected 1.4 billion people worldwide and killed between 151,700 to 575,400 people around the world. A vaccine was found 6 months after the initial outbreak and the pandemic ended. 6) 2002/2003 SARS was only a small outbreak infecting 8,098 and killed 774 people. All the infected patients of SARS, unlike Covid-19, had clear symptoms so it was easy to identify and isolate them and control the infections.7) When a disease reaches an epidemic or pandemic proportion, only a workable vaccine could end it, otherwise like the Spanish Flu, the cost to human lives & suffering and economic devastation would be colossal. 8) Nature, via natural selection, has its own ways of eliminating the “inefficient” viruses. This novel coronavirus, which is still mutating, seems to be “super-efficient” in infecting, harming and hiding from detection. Only a vaccine can end the pandemic. The statement by the Government on 27 June 2020 that a vaccine is needed to resolve this pandemic, is welcome news.9) Social measures (social distancing, wearing face mask, use of hand sanitisers, etc.) are only meant to contain and control the infections and to buy time for us until a vaccine is found. The social measures cannot end the pandemic. For a still largely un-automated and un-digitised “brick & mortar” economy like ours based mainly on agriculture, manufacturing and construction, social measures (based on studies reported) also have negative and harmful side effects,and are not sustainable on a long term basis. For example, social distancing presents a problem in early and primary education where close human interaction is required and it also disrupts most of our productive processes. Over-use of face mask can cause a lack of oxygen and too much carbon dioxide which can be harmful. Too much usage of hand sanitisers can cause skin problems. 10) We should ensure that those who are most vulnerable (poor, sick, disable, unemployed people, etc.) are not neglected or being sidelined in any way from any forms of aids. Compassionate considerations must be given to such vulnerable groups when implementing the social measures. 11) The Government and its relevant agencies have so far done a good job in using social measures to keep the infections low and under control. The Government has also done well in providing the healthcare and treatment needed for infected patients of Covid-19. Our frontline healthcare workers havedone a marvelous job here and should be roundly applauded.12) Despite the low infection rates at the moment but with our porous borders and millions of foreign workers and mostcitizens not tested yet, it is possible that there could be countless people out there who could be infected and who may be asymptomatic. This point is merely a word of caution.We really do not know the actual situation until enough tests are done. The US CDC has just announced that for every infected person detected in the USA, there are at least 10 more infected people who are undetected, meaning as many as 27 million people in the USA could be infected today. The Government agencies concerned should test as many people as possible and to learn more from other countries on the contact tracing system with those tested positive.13) We should be honest and realistic with ourselves and while we should do our best, we should not be too concerned about having zero cases of infections. Of course, it is most welcomed if we achieve zero cases, but it may not be sustainable until a vaccine is found and based on point 12above. Based on news reports, Beijing had zero cases of Covid-19 for 56 days until there was 1 new case on 10 June 2020 and by 14 June 2020, they had 51 new cases. New Zealand, a secluded island of 5 million people, after 24 days of zero cases, reported 2 new cases on 17 June 2020. 14) The Government’s main responsibility is to continue to ensure that agreed social measures (SOP) are being implemented appropriately, provide adequate healthcare & treatment and to prepare the country for future waves ofinfections.15) Until a workable vaccine is found, we have to find the right balance on the social measures needed to control future infections and how to carefully open up our damaged economy to stop the internal hemorrhage. The Government has stated that tourism (worst hit sector), has suffered a loss of RM 45 billion in the first half of this year. The Government has also warned of RM 1 trillion losses caused by a collapse of the banking and financial system if the economy is not open up soon enough. This is the greatest challenge today for our country (and other countries) to address.16) Since the only way to end this ‘silent genocide’ is to find avaccine and we do not have any local expertise in this area and in view of the global geo-politics & pharma-politics of Covid vaccines, our government and the banking & financial sector (for the sake of its own survival) should do much more to support, assist and facilitate any genuine private sector initiatives in finding and securing a workable vaccine from reputable sources overseas. Most vaccine developments overseas are undertaken by private sector biotech firms.17) As we are still sailing in unchartered waters and we should learn as much as possible from the measures undertaken in other countries. We should also not take anything for granted and be open and innovative in exploring any viable ideasneeded. We need a holistic integrated approach, including protecting nature and environment, to deal with this deadly and devastating pandemic.18) This pandemic is too important for our country’s survival to be politicized by any quarters. I would like to call upon all parties, all sectors and the public to support the government of the day in managing this crisis equitably for all. Our country needs to be united and coordinated in facing thismost dangerous and invisible threat to our very existence.
Media Coordinator
Azmi Anshar
***********
In preparation of the 15GE, for PN to work is the separation of seats contested and no over lapping contest or it would just benefit the Opposition in a three or more corner fights.
Hence, the parties within PN would be squabbling for seat allocations.
UMNO should be stern about putting the Baseline down. The seats won on 14GE bt 10 May 2018 should be the Baseline.
Anything out of those constituencies can be negotiated and allocated amongst the twelve PN parties.
What is interesting is that UMNO and PAS inked the Muafakat Nasional charter Sept last year and already got their technical discussions in motion, which include seat allocations.
Another interesting point is that UMNO has still the best and extensive political machinery structure, with more than 22,000 branches.
The past five by-elections with Extraordinary performance in Tanjung Piai is a testimony that UMNO, together as MN, is political force to be reckoned with.
Interesting to note, all under the BN-Dacing symbol.
After all, UMNO has proven through the past sixty five years they have been very consistent in the policies and struggle and managed the nation quite well. That has been manifested by the development brought, compounding growth and maintaining stability of the nation, rakyat and economy, admist many rounds of challenges.
Hence, UMNO should be mother-tree in the orchard of many fruit trees where benefits can be harvested and enjoyed by all.
Julai 01, 2020 23:35 +08
The "thirteen million plus Ringgit" guy rambles.... 
Posturing Post Paracels
Protecting the sovereignty, economic and territorial interests of the nation, including the maritime passage and rights to fishery and mineral extraction as part of the Economic Exclusive Zone which is enacted in Parliament as Act 311 1984 and UN Convention Law of the Seas 1982, is the paramount duty of His Majesty’s Government.
Geo-politics is a very complicated game with variables that would have strategic effect on nations like Malaysia, if not properly played and handled before it is worsened
The Star story:
Hisham: Malaysia will not compromise on South China Sea sovereignty
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will not compromise on its sovereignty in the South China Sea, says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
“My stand is clear. We will not compromise on our sovereignty,” he told reporters during a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday (July 15).
He assured that the naval vessels from both China and the United States are no longer in Malaysian waters.
“It a geopolitical issue between the two superpowers of US and China. Let them sort it out,” he added.
“Even if we resolve the posturing between the two superpowers, we still need to resolve the overlapping claims between neighbours,” said the former defence minister.
He said that it was important for Malaysia and Asean to play an intermediary role to find an amicable solution to the issue.
“My personal fear is that could be an incident or accident that could lead to war. We have to avoid military posturing as it will not help the situation,” he added.
Hishamuddin acknowledged that Malaysia had previously sent protest notes over China’s encroachment of its waters.
He was asked to comment on the recent Auditor-General’s Report report that China’s military encroached into Sabah and Sarawak waters in the South China Sea 89 times from 2016 to 2019.
********
The latest development of China’s People Liberation Army-Navy manoeuvres in the South China Sea as part of the Asia’s Superpower imperious tendency of unsubstantiated claim of the ‘Nine-Dash-Line’, is very worrying.
The South China Morning Post
Beijing should change tack on South China Sea to avoid conflict with US, analyst says
Beijing needs to reassess its strategies in the South China Sea as relations with Washington are in free fall and the disputed waterway is likely to be a flashpoint, a Chinese regional security expert says.
While policy advisers will be looking at different scenarios for the protracted struggle between the two superpowers in the region, managing tensions with its Southeast Asian neighbours was a key task for Beijing, according to Chen Xiangmiao, an associate researcher with the National Institute for South China Sea Studies on Hainan Island.
“If there is a maritime clash with [rival claimants] Vietnam, Malaysia or the Philippines, the US will have an excuse to step in, and that could trigger a direct military conflict between China and the US,” Chen said.
“[But] as long as the rival claimants can exercise restraint and don’t take sides between China and the US, I think the risk of conflict can remain under control.”
Chen’s assessment came as Washington toughened its stance on the South China Sea, raising concerns about the possibility of military conflict between Beijing and Washington – already at loggerheads over issues ranging from trade to human rights and Hong Kong.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Monday that the US formally opposes a swathe of Chinese claims to waters and the rights to seabed resources within the so-called nine-dash line that encompasses almost all of the South China Sea. The move was seen by some Chinese observers as Washington abandoning its previous position of neutrality on territorial disputes in the waterway.https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html?n=0South China Sea: key moments in a decades-long dispute
“We used to say that the South China Sea issue could affect overall Sino-US relations. But now the South China Sea issue has become [part of Washington’s] comprehensive strategy to contain China,” Chen said. “China will need to examine the relationship between the South China Sea issue and overall Sino-US ties.”
He continued: “Is decoupling [between China and the US] possible? My assessment is that it is not likely. But if the relationship between China and the US continues to worsen, then the South China Sea issue could become the tipping point that leads to a [military] clash.”
According to Chen, Beijing needed to prepare for the US taking a tougher approach, including more flexing of its military muscle in the strategic waterway and pressing its regional partners and allies to take a stronger stand against China.
In one scenario, Chen said the US could send its coastguard in response to what it sees as a growing threat from China’s “grey zone” operations by coastguard vessels and maritime militia, which Beijing has been accused of using to expand its presence in the South China Sea.
Chen said likely countermeasures from Beijing included setting up an air defence identification zone in the South China Sea and accelerating its infrastructure-building in the disputed waters
“[China’s actions will] depend on the perceived threat from the US,” Chen said. “If the US or rival claimants such as Vietnam make any unilateral move, I wouldn’t rule out any possibility.”
Zhang Mingliang, a Southeast Asian affairs expert with Jinan University in Guangzhou, said Beijing needed to improve relations with its neighbours, and that could include providing public services.
********
However, Al Jazeera reported that China’s own historical records debunked their claims for the disputed territories.
China’s own records debunk ‘historic rights’ over disputed seas
Experts say official Chinese documents belie ‘nine-dash line’ as Beijing asserts dominance in South China Sea.
by Ted Regencia1 hour ago
Having secured the allegiance of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during a state visit to Beijing in 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping returned the favour when he visited Manila in 2018 promising a new chapter in the two nations’ diplomatic ties and vowing to turn the disputed South China Sea into “a sea of peace”.
In a published message to Filipinos just before his trip, Xi recalled how more than 600 years ago, Chinese explorer Zheng He “made multiple visits to the Manila Bay, Visayas and Sulu” areas during his “seven overseas voyages seeking friendship and cooperation”.
The suggestion was that China had been in contact with the archipelago long before Europeans arrived naming it Las Islas Filipinas after Spain’s King Felipe II. It was also a way for Xi to bolster China’s claims in the South China Sea based on its ‘nine dash line’ and long contested by the Philippines, as well as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.
The problem is that the evidence suggests Zheng never set foot in the future Philippine islands.
“All the scholars all over the world are unanimous: Zheng He never visited the Philippines,” Antonio Carpio said in an online lecture earlier this month. He called Xi’s anecdote “totally false”. The former Philippine Supreme Court justice also presented other official Chinese records that debunk Beijing’s “historic maritime rights” over the South China Sea – thereby raising new questions about its standing in the region as tensions escalate.
On Monday, the US raised the stakes saying “Beijing’s claims to offshore resources” across most of the disputed seas were “completely unlawful”. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added that the world would “not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire.” In response, Beijing accused Washington of unnecessarily inflaming the situation.
Earlier, the US deployed the warships, USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan to assert what it calls its freedom of navigation in the waters. A sailor on one of the ships told Al Jazeera that the operations could last for weeks. China held a large-scale naval exercise in the area from July 1 to 5.
‘History vs facts on the ground’
Historical records may not favour China in the continuing debate on the control of the South China Sea, through which as much as $5.3tn in global trade passes annually.
Refuting the Chinese president’s claim, Carpio, the Filipino legal scholar, presented evidence from China’s own Naval Hydrographic Institute, chronicling Zheng’s visit to the then Cham Kingdom of central Vietnam. A translation mixup of the kingdom’s Chinese name, incorrectly referred to it later as a Philippine island.
A 2019 Ancient History Encyclopedia article also traced Zheng’s expeditions in the early 1400s as far as the Arabia and Africa, but nowhere in the story did it mention Zheng’s supposed visit to the Philippines.
A map of ancient China dating back to the Tang Dynasty shows that the island of Hainan was the country’s southernmost territory [State Bureau of Cultural Relics of China via the presentation of Philippine Justice Antonio Carpio]
To further disprove China’s claim of “historic rights”, Carpio presented several ancient Chinese maps, dating as far back as 800 and 900 years ago during the Song and Tang dynasties. All the maps showed that China’s southernmost territory was the island of Hainan.
Additionally, the 1947 Constitution of the Republic of China, also identified Hainan as the country’s southernmost part, raising questions over what would later emerge as the “nine-dash line” claim.
Regardless of the historical evidence, the reality is that China already “controls almost all the facts on the ground”, said Thomas Benjamin Daniel, senior foreign policy expert at Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic and International Studies. It is clear that Beijing now has “real and credible foothold” in the South China Sea, he told Al Jazeera.
Still, Daniel and other analysts are urging China and other stakeholders in the region, to abide by the principles and spirit of international law, to keep the peace and avoid situations that would lead “down a very dangerous road.”
‘Nine-dash line’
For years, China has anchored its South China Sea claims on the “nine-dash line”, under which it lays claim to almost 90 percent of the disputed waters as far south as the coasts of Malaysian Borneo and Brunei. Images published by China showed the imaginary line almost hogging the shores of neighbouring countries.
Using the controversial line, Beijing has been ramping up activities in the South China Sea, starting with the Paracels in the 1970s and 1980s, the Spratlys in the 1990s, and the Scarborough Shoal in the early 2000s.
Chester Cabalza, a security analyst and fellow at the National Defence University in Beijing, said China has been strategic in approaching the “South China Sea conundrum”. He added that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has only provided the country even more opportunities to advance its interests.
“It seems like China is winning,” he told Al Jazeera, noting how it has militarised the disputed waters by developing rocks and atolls into islands in recent years.
ISIS Malaysia’s Daniel added that China “is playing the long game”, as it attempts to solidify and “normalise” its regional maritime position.
The Hague ruling
Beijing’s approach encountered resistance in 2016 with the landmark ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, which declared China’s “historic rights” had no legal basis.
The ruling also said that the rocks and the partly submerged features, on which China had built its naval and aerial facilities, were within the 200 nautical miles (370.4km) Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, as defined by the UN. Those zones allow only the Philippines to fish and explore any natural resources although foreign vessels are allowed safe passage.
The court also automatically established the EEZs of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam, boosting their own positions in relation to China.
Furthermore, the court said China’s reclaimed areas and artificial islands were not entitled to a 12-mile (22.2km) territorial sea, because they were not habitable in their original form. As such, freedom of navigation and overflight are allowed in those areas.
China refused to participate in the arbitration case, dismissing the ruling as “null and void”.https://players.brightcove.net/665003303001/rkf5Vd3FnM_default/index.html?videoId=6170789127001&playsinline=trueSouth China Sea: Beijing extends its military and economic reach | Counting the Cost
It has continued to expand its facilities in the South China Sea regardless, including a three km (1.86 miles) military-grade runway, barracks and radars on Mischief Reef, which is within the Philippine EEZ.
Maritime incidents have also escalated, and in April a Vietnamese boat was sunk; an incident blamed on a Chinese surveillance vessel. All eight firshermen survived. In June 2019, at least 22 Filipino fishermen were almost left to drown when their fishing boat was rammed under suspicious circumstances by an alleged Chinese militia boat. They were later rescued by Vietnamese fishermen.
On Tuesday, Malaysia revealed that Chinese coastguard and navy ships were recorded to have encroached into its waters at least 89 times between 2016 and 2019. Earlier this year, there were also reports of a Chinese government survey ship “tagging” a Malaysian oil-exploration vessels within the Malaysian EEZ.
Cabalza, of the National Defence University in Beijing, described China’s behaviour as “schizophrenic”, as it tries to employ confrontation and cooperation in dealing with its neighbours.
‘Code of Conduct’
As part of its effort to defuse tensions in the region, the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been pressing China for years to reach agreement on the so-called Code of Conduct, which would govern countries’ behaviour in the South China Sea.
Differences between members – some of whom have no claim to the sea but are close to China – mean there has been has little headway.
Cabalza says the 10-nation bloc must present a more unified voice before it takes on China, which prefers bilateral negotiation, adding that ASEAN nations “should not become submissive” in negotiating an equitable deal with Beijing.
On June 26, ASEAN leaders held a virtual summit hosted by Vietnam, in which they declared that the 1982 United Nations oceans treaty should be foundation of sovereign rights and entitlements in the South China Sea. However, the leaders were unable to make significant progress on the Code of Conduct.
Daniel of ISIS-Malaysia says he is “not very optimistic” that an agreement can be reached soon in order to help ease tension.
“ASEAN is an Association of 10 member states with different national and foreign priorities, that makes decisions based on consensus. Consensus here often means the lowest common denominator.”
In the absence of a consensus, the increased presence of the United States in the South China Sea could prove a useful counterweight.
Daniel said the “marked increase” of US freedom of navigation operations and sharper rhetoric, show that Washington wanted to remain relevant in the region.
On Wednesday, Pompeo issued another statement saying the US would “support countries all across the world who recognise that China has violated their legal territorial claims as well – or maritime claims as well.”
Meanwhile, Carpio said all navies from around the world should be encouraged to sail through the South China Sea and exercise freedom of navigation – to deliver a message to Beijing that it does not control the area.
He also urged Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam to help the Philippines in explaining that China’s claim of “historic right” is “totally false.”
“We should continue resorting to the rule of law, because we have no other choice,” Carpio said.
“War is not an option.”
********
Former Former Minister Dato Seri Panglima Anifah Amah opined that issues pertaining to the ‘Nine-Dash-Line’ claim by China should not be taken lightly and Malaysia should be stern and decisive on their position:
Press Statement by YBhg Datuk Seri Panglima Anifah Haji Aman on the Recent News Reports Quoting That There Was No Further Enroachment By Chinese Vessels into Malaysia’s Maritime Areas in the South China Sea and cara bagaimana kita lakukannya, is between us and the leadership in China”.
I read with great interest the many news reports that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, YB Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussien had stated on 15 July 2020 that since he took over as the Foreign Minister of Malaysia, there was no further encroachment by Chinese vessels into Malaysia’s maritime areas in the South China Sea, and “cara bagaimana kita lakukannya, is between us and the leadership in China”.
I am appalled by the Minister’s statement. He is either in denial or ignorant of the fact. Worst, he is playing politics with Malaysia’s maritime and strategic interests.
It was only in April that a flotilla of Chinese enforcement vessels was sighted accompanying a Chinese survey vessel within Malaysia maritime areas. Further, I was reliably informed that Chinese coast guard vessels were sighted in the vicinity of Beting Patinggi Ali in May, June and July.
As a country that legitimately owns maritime areas in the South China Sea, the Government should not be hesitant to categorically state its objection to any unauthorised activities by foreign vessels within its maritime areas. If the Ministry of Foreign Affairs finds it appropriate to issue statement on 25 June and 12 July on the drone and missile attacks towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, surely it would not be too much to expect the Ministry to at least summon the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to register Malaysia’s displeasure on the unauthorised activities by the Chinese coast guard vessels within Malaysia’s maritime areas in the South China Sea.
Malaysia has never recognised China’s claims over its maritime areas in the South China Sea and the Government must uphold the position to ensure Malaysia’s maritime and strategic interests are not jeopardised. Failing to do so is a great disservice to the nation.
Being firm in safeguarding, protecting and promoting Malaysia’s maritime and strategic interests does not mean we need to be confrontational. What we need to do is to ensure full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, and uphold the supremacy of the rule of law in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
As I have stated many times, we must not be indecisive in defending our rights and interests, and a consistent principled position would stand us in good stead for the long term.
DATO’ SERI PANGLIMA ANIFAH HAJI AMAN
16 July 2020
********
Wisma Putra should no longer be wishy-washy on the matter and act now, in the best interests of Malaysia and Malaysians.
- Economic analysis and commentary
on July 16, 2020 at 13:00 Leave a Comment