Sharifah Munirah Alatas

The South China Sea and Energy Security: Malaysia’s Reaction to Emerging Geopolitical Reconfigurations

The aim of this article is to assess Malaysia’s approach to the presence of the U.S. , and China in the South China Sea. Malaysia’s strategy is directed at avoiding being entwined in big power rivalry. However, reality dictates that regional powers, such as Malaysia, have to carefully strategize their links with larger powers in order to secure their rights over the natural resources that are available there, as well as to prevent the militarization of energy security. The hypothesis of this article is that the re-orientation of the re-militarization of energy security in the South China Sea has changed the geopolitical motives of the players, mainly the U.S. , and China, to a neoclassical realist forward approach. We conclude that Malaysia’s “hedging” role in the South China Sea is motivated by the potential conflict for hegemony and energy security between the U.S. and China.

Liberal Approaches to the Study of Interconnection between Freshwater Scarcity and Security: Case Studies of India and Malaysia:

Since 2004, with the new premierships of Manmohan Singh, in India, and Abdullah Badawi, in Malaysia, India and Malaysia have been playing active roles in decision-making on many issues, regionally through regional blocks. Despite these positive developments, the area where there is a pressing need for the two countries to discuss and act upon concerns environmental security, mainly freshwater scarcity and security. Both India and Malaysia face worrying proportions of freshwater shortages, due to a number of reasons, including increasing individual consumption, industrialisation and poor agricultural practices. This article discusses how both India and Malaysia, as well as their roles in four regional organisations, can recognise the problem of freshwater scarcity and security and propose solutions for adaptation and mitigation. The theoretical framework within which this discussion is couched in is liberalism.