Security expert rubbishes call to rename parts of South China Sea

Mizan Aslam of the National Defence University of Malaysia says giving it another name is not a priority when dealing with security threats.

(FMT) – A security expert says it is unwise to rename parts of the South China Sea that fall within Malaysia’s maritime borders to fend off territorial claims by foreign countries.

Commenting on a suggestion by an opposition MP, Mizan Aslam of the National Defence University of Malaysia said coming up with an alternative name was not a priority when dealing with security threats.

“I don’t think it’s wise. It’s better to urge the government to display more dominance when claiming a territory,” he told FMT.

Mizan cited the territorial dispute between Malaysia and Singapore over Batu Puteh.

He said Singapore claimed to have administered Batu Puteh since the British colonial government built the Horsburgh Lighthouse there between 1850 and 1851.

“This (displaying more authority) is more important. Plus, there are local names given to parts of the South China Sea, like Beting Patinggi Ali in Sarawak,” he said.

Beting Patinggi Ali is located 84 nautical miles (155km) from the coast of Miri and is within Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone.

On Tuesday, Tumpat MP Mumtaz Nawi mooted the name change in view of the ongoing dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea, and the fact that Malaysia would take over as chair of Asean next year.

Mumtaz said several other countries had done so to reflect their sovereignty over other parts of the South China Sea, noting that the Philippines called its territorial waters the “West Philippine Sea”, Indonesia named their portion the “North Natuna Sea”, and Vietnam the “East Sea”.

She suggested that Malaysia rename the sea “Laut Asia Tenggara” or “Laut Melayu”.

Azmi Hassan, a geostrategist with Akademi Nusantara, said the government need not entertain such suggestions. He was confident Putrajaya had its own strategy to deal with territorial claims by foreign nations.

“There’s no need for a name change as the entire marginal sea is known as the South China Sea, so it’s best to retain the name,” he said.

He said although the neighbouring countries had different names for their territorial waters, they only made up a portion of the South China Sea.

Beijing has delineated a “nine-dash line” to assert its “historic claim” over 90% of the contested waters. Meanwhile, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also stake a claim to smaller portions of the South China Sea.

In August 2023, the foreign ministry said Malaysia did not recognise China’s 2023 standard map, which showed portions of Malaysian waters near Sabah and Sarawak as belonging to China.