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Malaysia’s China Policy and the South China Sea Dispute Under the Najib Administration (2009–2018): A Domestic Policy Process Approach
Author(s) -
Ngeow ChowBing
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
asian politics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.193
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 1943-0787
pISSN - 1943-0779
DOI - 10.1111/aspp.12494
Subject(s) - china , administration (probate law) , prime minister , assertiveness , political science , foreign policy , politics , law , psychology , social psychology
The past explanations of Malaysia’s policy responses to China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea centered on systemic, economic, and ideational factors. I adopt a different approach by looking into the decision‐making process of Malaysia’s China policy during Najib Razak’s administration (2009–2018). I explain that the China policy decision‐making process under Najib was divided into two channels, one focusing on nonsecurity matters and the other on security matters, with the prime minister seated at the top of the two channels, while there were very little interactions between the two channels. These characteristics could partially explain the nature and outcome of Malaysia’s South China Sea policy posture.