China's rise is assured in our new world order, but not as a hegemony

China Won't Match U.S. as Military Power, Malaysia's Najib Says

By Rosalind Mathieson and Shamim Adam

April 26, 2018, 6:06 AM EDT

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-26/china-won-t-match-u-s-as-military-power-malaysia-s-najib-says

Malaysia seeks close ties with both China, U.S., says Najib

Prime minister says he has ‘personal relationship’ with Trump

China will become the dominant economic power in Asia in the near term but will not displace the U.S. militarily, according to Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak.

In an hour-long interview with Bloomberg on April 24, his first one-on-one with international media in more than three years, Najib spoke warmly of Malaysia’s relationship with both China and the U.S. He also stressed the need for the major powers to act in a "constructive” way in the region and avoid a potential Thucydides trap, named after the Greek historian who warned of war when an emerging power challenges a mature one.

“We don’t want a so-called rising power and an old power to be at odds with one another,” Najib said. “China will be the biggest economy, certainly, that’s a fact. But China will not be able to match the United States in terms of being the military superpower as such.”

Read more: Najib Predicts Better Win After 2013 Vote Scare, 1MDB ‘Mistakes’

Najib, 64, who expects his ruling coalition to return to power in a May 9 election, leads a country that sits along a key global trading route through the Malacca Strait into the disputed South China Sea. As a smaller nation, it risks getting caught in the middle as China expands its economic and military clout in Southeast Asia, a region the U.S. has dominated for decades.

“The rise of China is inevitable, you know, whatever you say, you can’t stop it,” Najib said of his country’s biggest trading partner. “It’s a big market and we can do a lot of things with China, provided that China doesn’t use its size of economy and embark on policies that would be hurting us,” he said. “I know it’s a cliche to talk peaceful rise but we believe there’s no reasons for us to doubt that will happen.”

Since coming to office, President Donald Trump has spurred doubt over the future of the U.S. commitment to the region, leading to concerns that China may rise at an accelerated pace. He withdrew from a blockbuster Pacific trade pact that many Asian nations saw as a hallmark of the U.S.’s staying power, and now remaining members such as Malaysia say they don’t want to renegotiate the deal to accommodate a potential U.S. return.

Trump’s ambiguous approach toward U.S. partners has persisted even after the Pentagon warned the U.S. must prepare to wage a great power competition with China and Russia as those nations seek to “co-opt or replace the free and open order that has enabled global security and prosperity since World War II.” Chinese leaders have repeatedly sought to reassure smaller countries, saying they don’t seek hegemony in the region.

Najib knew Trump before he reached his current levels of fame. As well as meeting in person and speaking on the phone, they’ve played golf together.

“I have a good, warm, I mean a personal relationship with President Donald Trump,” Najib said.

“He’s not bothered about things that don’t matter to him, in a sense,” he added. “I think the two important things that matter to him would be, you know, how to make the United States great and create more jobs. Number two, how to make the United States safe.”

Despite Malaysia’s disappointment with Trump over the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, it also faces differences with China. That’s even as economic ties increase, with Malaysia increasingly a part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road infrastructure program. China was the country’s top source of foreign direct investment last year.

South China Sea

China and Malaysia have competing claims to parts of the South China Sea, a key waterway for trade, fishing and -- increasingly -- militaries. China asserts ownership of more than 80 percent of the waters, and has built runways and other installations supportive of a military presence on reclaimed reefs.

Admiral Philip Davidson, who was nominated as commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said in written testimony to Congress this month that Beijing had largely completed building forward bases in the South China Sea.

“Once occupied, China will be able to extend its influence thousands of miles to the south and project power deep into Oceania,” he said. “In short, China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea in all scenarios short of war with the United States.”

Najib said he was hopeful China would respect the views of other claimants. He expressed caution when asked if he would consider joint exploration with China of oil and gas resources in the area, saying it could be seen as tacit acceptance of another nation’s claims.

“We have been trying to tell the Chinese government that it should not be a militarized South China Sea, and whatever it is, it should be done on peaceful negotiations and in accordance with international law,” he said. “They do have three man-made islands, atolls that have become major islands but they have not really been fully deployed as military bases so to speak, but they do have some assets.”

Malaysian opposition leader Mahathir Mohamad said in a recent interview that if he wins the election he will restart negotiations on rights and access to the South China Sea while ensuring “friendly” relations with all countries. He also said that Chinese companies currently don’t employ locals or bring in capital and technology to Malaysia.

“Lots of people don’t like Chinese investments,” Mahathir said. “We want to defend the rights of Malaysians. We don’t want to sell chunks of this country to foreign companies who will develop whole towns.”

Mahathir’s comments reflect broader concerns about Chinese investment across Asia that have stoked political tensions from Australia to Sri Lanka. While many countries are eager to benefit from Xi’s largess, they are also wary of becoming too dependent on China.

Najib said the government had written guarantees into Belt and Road contracts to protect local workers. “For example a lot of the infrastructure work will be done by Malaysian companies and they are to employ Malaysian people to work on that project,” he said.

While he said Belt and Road projects would increase China’s influence in the region, he maintained that Malaysia and other Southeast Asian states could manage the issue and refuted any suggestion the projects came with strings attached.

China is “more obsessed” with economic growth than military expansion, Najib said. “I don’t think China will risk any irresponsible action that will undermine its rise to become the largest economy in the world.”

— With assistance by Yudith Ho

马来西亚总理：中国的崛起不可避免，你无法阻止它
2018年04月30日 来源：参考消息
http://news.ifeng.com/a/20180430/58003491_0.shtml

美媒称，马来西亚总理纳吉布称，中国不久将成为在亚洲占支配地位的经济强国，但在军事上不会取代美国。

据彭博社网站4月26日报道，纳吉布在采访中热情谈论了马来西亚同中国和美国的关系。他还强调，大国需要在该地区以“富有建设性的”方式行事，避免潜在的“修昔底德陷阱”。

▲纳吉布

纳吉布说：“我们不希望所谓的正在崛起的大国与老牌大国发生冲突。中国将是最大的经济体，毫无疑问，这是事实。但在成为军事超级大国方面，中国将无法与美国相比。”

报道称，现年64岁的纳吉布期待自己的执政联盟在5月9日的选举中继续掌权，他所领导的国家紧邻一条通过马六甲海峡进入有争议的南海的关键全球贸易通道。美国数十年来一直在东南亚占据主导地位，但随着中国在该地区扩大自身影响力，作为一个小国的马来西亚面临被夹在中间的风险。

▲资料图片：当地时间2018年2月13日，2018金色眼镜蛇多国联合军演正式开幕，参加联合军演的国家有泰国、美国、日本、韩国、印尼、新加坡、马来西亚等。

纳吉布在谈到马来西亚最大的贸易伙伴时说：“中国的崛起不可避免，你知道，不管你说什么，你都无法阻止它。”他说：“它是一个大市场，我们可以与中国做很多事情。我知道，谈论和平崛起是陈词滥调，但我们认为，我们没有理由怀疑它会发生。”

报道称，纳吉布在获得如今的名望之前就结识了特朗普。除了会面和通电话外，他们还一起打过高尔夫。

纳吉布说：“我与唐纳德·特朗普总统有不错的、友好的私人关系。”

他还说：“从某种意义上说，他并不担心对他无关紧要的事情。”他说：“我认为，对他来说非常重要的两个问题是如何让美国变得伟大并创造更多就业，以及如何让美国安全。”

报道称，马来西亚因为《跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》而对特朗普感到失望，与此同时，马来西亚与中国的经济联系增加，马来西亚日益成为“一带一路”倡议的组成部分。中国去年是马来西亚最大的外国直接投资来源国。

▲图为中马合建的马来西亚东海岸铁路项目模型

虽然纳吉布说“一带一路”倡议将提升中国在该地区的影响力，但他坚持认为，马来西亚和其他东南亚国家可以应对这个问题，并驳斥了有关该倡议带有附加条件的说法。

纳吉布说，中国更关注经济增长而非军事扩张。他说：“我认为，中国不会冒险采取任何将影响其崛起成为世界第一大经济体的不负责任的行动。”

      马来西亚日益成为“一带一路”倡议的参与者。图为2017年纳吉布（左二）视察被认为是“一带一路”倡议重要项目的东海岸铁路项目。（路透社资料图片）