[Politics] Malaysia's One-China Policy Leans Towards Beijing; Scholar: Whether it Affects ASEAN Needs Attention

Regarding recent Taiwan-related incidents involving ASEAN countries, such as joint exercises between Indonesia and China, and remarks about the "One China" principle by the Malaysian Prime Minister, scholar Zhao Wenzhi analyzed in an interview today (21st) that ASEAN remains closely related to countries like the US, Japan, and Australia in terms of security. However, China's influence is clearly rising in economic aspects and on the Taiwan issue. Therefore, Zhao Wenzhi further cautioned that Taiwan needs to pay attention to whether Malaysia's recent discourse leaning towards Beijing will affect the internal dynamics of ASEAN in the future. In November 2024, Indonesia and China issued a joint statement reaffirming their firm adherence to the One China principle and mentioning UN General Assembly Resolution 2758. In September 2025, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto visited Beijing to attend the 93rd-anniversary military parade. In August of this year, the Chinese and Indonesian navies conducted a joint sailing exercise in the waters east of Taiwan. In April 2025, Malaysia and China issued a joint statement asserting that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China's territory. In August of this year, during an interview, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim alluded to Taiwan as a separatist province of China, stating that if one of Malaysia's states decided to secede, he would use force to protect the nation's sanctity and unity. Both Indonesia and Malaysia are major ASEAN powers. Will these statements alter ASEAN's traditional stance? Is China's influence over ASEAN continuously increasing? Zhao Wenzhi, Vice Provost of National Chung Cheng University, stated in an interview that China is successfully increasing the political cooperation of ASEAN countries on issues concerning its core interests. However, this situation should not be simply interpreted as ASEAN completely tilting towards China or abandoning its traditional non-aligned policy. Zhao Wenzhi further analyzed that in the face of intense strategic competition between the US and China, ASEAN attempts to create a state of "not choosing sides." If any choice is made, it is based on their own national interests. Zhao Wenzhi said: "(Original sound) For these ASEAN countries, they all need to maintain close cooperative relations with China. Does this reflect that China's influence over ASEAN is comprehensive? I don't think so. Economically, it is indeed evident. However, in terms of security and military affairs, they are still constrained by countries like the US, Japan, and Australia. Therefore, it is only on economic issues and the Taiwan issue that China's influence over ASEAN is clearly increasing." The above is an overall observation of the bilateral relations between ASEAN and China. Currently, it appears to be a situation where economic and security matters are handled separately. However, Zhao Wenzhi specifically warned about Anwar Ibrahim's interview content because Anwar "accepted China's narrative and framework on the Taiwan issue." He is aligning Malaysia's traditional "One China policy" with Beijing's version. Taiwan must pay attention to the potential impact of Anwar's actions on ASEAN, Zhao Wenzhi said: "(Original sound) From Anwar's perspective, I think he believes this is most beneficial to Malaysia's national interests, so he made such a statement. When he makes such a statement, will it influence other ASEAN countries to follow suit? This is perhaps what we need to observe going forward." Not only should we closely observe whether Anwar's statement will become an ASEAN consensus, but Zhao Wenzhi also suggested that the government, in addition to frequently mentioning shared values with ASEAN countries and constantly urging them not to follow China's lead, should also incorporate the interests of ASEAN countries into Taiwan's narrative. For example, emphasizing that cooperation with Taiwan can strengthen their own strategic autonomy, rather than merely urging ASEAN countries to stand with democratic nations to counter an authoritarian China. This appeal for ASEAN to choose between "democratic Taiwan" and "authoritarian China" is actually not very attractive, as "value diplomacy" is not the most important basis for ASEAN countries' foreign policy decisions.