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Malaysia and South China Sea: Policy, Strategy and Risks MALAYSIA AND SOUTH CHINA SEA: POLICY, STRATEGY AND RISKS Edited by BA Hamzah, Adam Leong and Vivian Louis Forbes Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data MALAYSIA AND SOUTH CHINA SEA: POLICY, STRATEGY AND RISKS / Edited by BA Hamzah, Adam Leong, Vivian Forbes. ISBN: 978-967-15687-4-3 1. Sea control-Malaysia. 2. Naval strategy-Malaysia. 3. South China Sea-Strategic aspects. I. BA Hamzah. II. Leong, Adam Kok Wey. III Forbes, Vivian Louis. 359.0309595 November 2020 Copyright © UPNM, 2020 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of UPNM, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. Centre for Defence and International Security Studies (CDiSS) National Defence Universiti of Malaysia Kem Sungai Besi 57000 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 03 – 9051 3400 Fax: 03 – 9051 3031 Layout and designed by: Design Blast Ilham Pena Publishing(002233316-K) Published by: Ilham Pena Publishing (002233316-K) Printed by: Ilham Vektor Trading Malaysia And South China Sea: Policy, Strategy and Risks ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The editors express their sincere gratitude to National Defence University of Malaysia (NDUM), Kuala Lumpur, for a generous book grant in 2020, which enabled the editors and authors to conduct their research, and to compile, prepare and publish this book. In addition, we extend humble thanks to a host of different organisations and individuals who offered generous support throughout the period. Firstly, we offer our thanks to the Vice-Chancellor of NDUM, Lt. Gen Datuk Haji Abdul Halim bin Haji Jalal; Deputy Vice-Chancellor of NDUM (Academic and International), Prof. Emeritus Dato' Dr. Tengku Mohd bin Tengku Sembok; and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of NDUM (Research and Innovation) Brigadier General Prof. Ir. Dr. Norazman bin Mohamad Nor for their support towards this book project. Our deep appreciation to the librarians and staff at The National Archives, Kew Gardens; Imperial War Museum; Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King’s College London; University of New South Wales, Sydney; Macquarie University, University of Sydney, and the National Defence University of Malaysia, who had rendered their kind assistance and courtesy during our search for materials and interviews for this book. The editors also thank the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies (CDiSS), Kuala Lumpur, research officer Aqilah Binti Md Pazil for her steadfast and meticulous assistance throughout the editing process and final realisation of this book. Aqilah’s tireless efforts ensured that all the authors (including the editors!) complete their work in time and the successful completion of this informative and timely monograph on Malaysia’s policy, strategy and risks as it defends its rightful claim to territory and sovereignty and birthright under international law. i Malaysia And South China Sea: Policy, Strategy and Risks Last but not least, we would like to state the views expressed in this book are entirely those of individual authors and do not represent the official policies of their respective organizations. We aim to inform our readers on the issues that Malaysia faces in the territorial dispute in our regional sea which contains our vital sea lanes of communication that must be kept free for maritime transportation and accessible to sustainably harvest marine biotic resources and exploit the marine hydrocarbon resources. BA Hamzah, Adam Leong and Vivian Louis Forbes Kuala Lumpur, November 2020 ii Malaysia And South China Sea: Policy, Strategy and Risks CONTENT PAGE Acknowledgement……………………………………………………….. i Contents………………………………………………………………………. iii Contributors ………………………………………………………………... v Introduction ……………………………………………………………….. 1 Chapter 1: Malaysia’s Occupation of Spratly Features: A Special Operation by PASKAL By Mat Taib Yasin , Azhar Abdul Rahman and Johari Ramzan Ahmad…………………………………………………………………………… 12 Chapter 2: Safeguarding the South China Sea: A Challenge for the Royal Malaysian Navy By Tharishini Krishnan……………………………………………………. 34 Chapter 3: Malaysia’s Actual and Potential Maritime Boundaries in the South China Sea By Vivian Louis Forbes……………………………………………………. 62 Chapter 4: The South China Sea And Malaysia’s Claims on Continental Shelf and Extended Continental Shelf Beyond 200 NM By Jalila Abdul Jalil……………………………………………………………. 96 Chapter 5: The logic of Malaysia’s strategy in the South China Sea Debacle By Adam Leong Kok Wey…………………………………………………. 116 Chapter 6: China’s Excessive Maritime Claims in the South China Sea: A Malaysian Perspective By BA Hamzah………………………………………………………………… 131 iii Malaysia And South China Sea: Policy, Strategy and Risks CONTENT PAGE Chapter 7: Maritime Law Enforcement in Malaysia’s Exclusive Economic Zone By Fadzil Mokhtar……………………………………………………… 151 Chapter 8: Malaysia’s Approach Towards Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing in South China Sea By Inderjit Singh…………………………………………………………… 173 iv Malaysia And South China Sea: Policy, Strategy and Risks CONTRIBUTORS BA Hamzah is the Director of the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies (CDISS) at the National Defence University of Malaysia (NDUM). Adam Leong Kok Wey is the Deputy Director (Research) of the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies (CDISS) at the National Defence University of Malaysia (NDUM), and Associate Professor of Strategic Studies at NDUM. Fadzil Mokhtar is a Teaching Fellow at the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies (CDISS) at the National Defence University of Malaysia (NDUM). Inderjit Singh is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies (CDISS) at the National Defence University of Malaysia (NDUM), and a senior lecturer in management studies and leadership at NDUM. Tharishini Krishnan is a senior lecturer at the National Defence University of Malaysia (NDUM) and a research fellow at the Centre of Defence and International Security Studies NDUM. Vivian Louis Forbes is affiliated with CDiSS as an Associate; Adjunct Associate Professor at University of Western Australia (UWA); and, Adjunct Research Professor at NISCSS, Haikou. Jalila Abdul Jalil is the Head of Centre for Ocean Law and Policy, Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA). Mat Taib Yasin is a retired Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) officer. Amongst the appointments held during his twenty-odd years of service were, as Navigator/Trainer, Commanding Officer of Guided Missile Corvette and Director of Naval Plan. v Malaysia And South China Sea: Policy, Strategy and Risks Azhar Abdul Rahman is a retired Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) officer and is currently an Executive Director of a private limited company based in Kuala Lumpur. Johari Ramzan Ahmad is a retired Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN)officer, having served 30 years in various operational, command and staff positions. He led the first group of eleven PASKAL (Navy Special Forces) to permanently occupy the Swallow Reef Complex (Terumbu Layang-Layang) on 5th May 1983. vi Malaysia And South China Sea: Policy, Strategy and Risks INTRODUCTION Vivian Louis Forbes This volume features a series of eight chapters presented by ten contributors who offer narratives to explain the policy, diplomatic and military strategies and associated risks relating to Malaysia’s actual and potential actions in dealing with the territorial and sovereignty issues in the South China Sea. Each of the authors in their respective chapters give explanations of the policy and analysis of events for the reader to better appreciate and understand Malaysia’s posture in the South China Sea historically and as a guide for the future. The responsibility for mapping the area was given to the National Survey and Mapping Department of Malaysia. They were supported by various agencies from the Ministry of Defence and the National Security Council. The Royal Malaysian Engineers and their colleagues from the National Survey and Mapping Department would not have been able to undertake their dangerous and arduous task of surveying the uncharted area. The data they collected were transformed into the 1979 Map on the Continental Shelf of Malaysia. Producing the map was indeed a national cooperative and collective effort during the reign of Tun Hussein Onn as Prime Minister. However, it was Prime Minster Dr Mahathir Mohamed who was the architect and champion of Malaysia’s policy in the Spratlys. Without his personal commitment, the entire project to acquire territories in the Spratly would not have materialised. The first chapter presents a historical perspective by describing the involvement of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s Special Forces Unit (PASKAL) in making Malaysia’s first steps in staking its claim in the South China Sea by occupying a feature and placing markers on five other nearby marine features to indicate territorial gain. The Royal Malaysian Air Force played its part in the process of the occupation of the marine feature of the Spratly Archipelago. This chapter recalls the first tenacious moments when a team of Malaysian naval personnel put their feet on a rocky coral outcrop (a reef) in the southern sector of the South China Sea within Malaysia’s natural continental shelf. 1 Malaysia And South China Sea: Policy, Strategy and Risks The narrative offers a factual and serious, yet at times humorous and light-hearted
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