Secretary of the Malaysia-China Friendship Tan Kai Hee says the basic principles behind China's foreign policy since Admiral Zheng visited the Melaka sultanate in the 15th century, has been peace and good neighbourliness.

Question: What is your assessment of Tun Abdul Razak? Do you think without the normalisation of relations between the United States and China in 1972, would he have been psychologically at ease to approach China?

Tan:

You are right. Since everybody was trying to befriend China then, what's wrong for us (to do the same)? Of course, US-China diplomatic relations was not instantly established during or even immediately after President Nixon's visit to Beijing in 1972.

The visit took place in the context of mutual concerns of both the United States and China. There were the Vietnam War and the problem of the Soviet Union. In all triangular relations, one must always make friends with another in order to check and balance the third component. China always practices this strategy.

When the United States was close to China, the Soviet Union would try to get even closer to the US. Similarly, if the US was close to the Soviet Union, China would do likewise. When and if the US was not in good terms with China, the Soviet Union would court China. This is the dynamics of international relations. This is called the balance of power.

I agree that had US not normalise relations with China in 1972, the situation would not have been conducive to establish Malaysia-China diplomatic relations. However, on the part of Malaysia, there was really a strong desire at that time to build a zone of neutrality in this region.

Given all these factors, the courage and foresight of Tun Abdul Razak is still to be highly commended.

As the Chinese proverb goes: a helpful neighbour is always more valuable than close relatives at a distance. It is the same in politics and international relations.

Economic power

When Malaysia first established diplomatic relations with China in 1974, the latter was still a very poor and politically unstable communist country. Thirty years later, China has now become an economic, political and diplomatic power in the region and even the world. What were the forces that transformed China in such a short period of time?

The main factor, I believe, was the desperation for survival and renewal in the aftermath of the destructive (Great Proletarian) Cultural Revolution of the1960s. If there was nothing more to lose in sheer desperation and almost hopelessness, why not make a complete change?

That was the question in the minds of many people in China in the late1970s and once the question was answered in the affirmative, it was transformed into productive energy and creativity in the 1980s.

That popular sentiment in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution provided massive support for Deng Xiaopeng' s unorthodox call for reform and opening up.

Of course, when Deng made the call, his moral standing and political authority were high because he was thrice a victim of the Cultural Revolution. He was unjustly exiled and humiliated but he rose again and again when he was supposed to have been 'politically dead'. So, after Mao passed away in 1976, Deng commanded popular sympathy, respect and admiration. They therefore responded to his call enthusiastically.

Similarly, Malaysia has also progressed economically since 1974, what are the Malaysian lessons that China can, and should, learn?

Malaysia has also changed for the better since 1974. The main reason was the May 13 racial riots in 1969 which later gave birth to the New Economic Policy (NEP). Initially, many did not agree with NEP and that was understandable because some interests were harmed. But, the NEP was later accepted by many.

When NEP was continued into the 1980s, two reforms could be clearly seen. Politically, the feudalistic and pro-Western Alliance was transformed into a more progressive and integrated National Front regime which also absorbed a certain amount of 'socialist' feature and 'united front' strategy. It has successfully defused many potentially dangerous situations caused by racial, religious and class problems. Interests have since been negotiated and distributed within an integrated framework.

Economically, NEP has also given birth to a multiethnic middle class and so nobody really wants to see social or political disturbances now. Everybody wants stability, irrespective of race or religion. The domestic process was like that in China after the Cultural Revolution.

As China always learns from the Malaysian and Singaporean experiences, Malaysia must also learn from China such as economic and financial management. There are so many things Malaysia can learn from China.

As a matter of fact, China itself did once learn from Singapore's experience on how to manage class relations harmoniously.

Military threat

It is often suggested by some quarters that China is a potential military threat to Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, because of its territorial claim on almost the entire South China Sea, as well as its strategic objective of breaking what it perceives to be the encirclement of US and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region from Japan to South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Australia and possibly Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Do you really think China is a military threat to Southeast Asia and Malaysia?

I really don't think the view of China being a military threat to Southeast Asia and Malaysia exists anymore. When the defence ministers of Malaysia and China visited each other's countries, they were shown all the military facilities and other facts and figures to achieve transparency and mutual trust.

On the question of territorial claims, the top leadership of Malaysia and China have already announced that the disputes have been shelved for future settlements. Even if occasional misunderstandings occur, they would instantly communicate with each other to defuse tensions. They understand that territorial disputes between the two countries could involve, or be complicated by, other countries.

The transparency between the two countries has reached a level that when Umno holds its assemblies, delegates of the Communist Party of China are always invited to attend as observers and guests of honour. Governmental leaders and officials from both countries also have regular communication and contacts, and there is a high level of mutual trust and transparency.

Now, Malaysian even speaks up for China and tells the world that China is not a military or political threat to anybody. Is China an economic threat? I think the stronger the economy of China becomes, the more benefits Malaysia can reap.

One of the most important psychological factors that have contributed to the mutual trust between the two countries is the story of Admiral Zheng The Muslim admiral visited the Sultanate of Malacca in the 15th century. His visit did not bring conquest or destruction as the Portuguese, Dutch and British did.

So, when (former deputy prime minister) Anwar Ibrahim visited China in 1994, he led a Muslim prayer session at the tomb of Admiral Zheng.. Anwar also said many good things about Admiral Zheng and China.

Admiral Zheng' s foreign policy of good neighbourliness and mutual respect was codified by premier Chou Eng-lai in the 1955 Bandung Conference. It is still the basic line.

Despite his political problem, I must still say that it was Anwar who first positioned Admiral Zheng correctly in historical perspective whenever Malaysia-China relations are discoursed. That China has never been a threat to Malaysia is also shared by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

[ Part 4 to follow]

JAMES WONG WING ON is chief analyst of Strategic Analysis Malaysia (SAM). Wong is a former DAP member of parliament for Kampar (1990-1995) and a former columnist for the Sin Chew Jit Poh Chinese daily (now Sin Chew Daily ). He read political science and economics at the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.