ASEAN SEBAGAI BATU LONCATAN DALAM KEDINAMIKAN HUBUNGAN BILATERAL MALAYSIA TERHADAP CHINA

Abstract

This study examines ASEAN‟s function as a strategic catalyst in shaping and positioning Malaysia-China bilateral relations amid great power competition and heightened systemic uncertainty. Situated as a small state, Malaysia confronts security dilemmas, geopolitical pressures as well as the imperative to safeguard sovereignty and national interests. Employing a qualitative methodology grounded in document analysis and trajectory analysis of bilateral relations, the study outlines four principal phases in Malaysia-China relations which is an era of hostility, normalization, an era that characterized by pragmatism and political caution and the era of consolidated strategic cooperation. The findings indicate that ASEAN operates as a mechanism of collective diplomacy that enables Malaysia to balance great-power influence, mitigate the risk of conflict and optimize political and economic gains without being subsumed into enduring alignments. Through the operationalization of the ASEAN Way and regional instruments such as ZOPFAN, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) and the East Asia Summit (EAS), Malaysia has been able to anchor major powers to regional norms and interests. The study concludes that ASEAN transcends its role as a regional organization to function as a significant strategic instrument that sustains Malaysia‟s foreign policy toward China in a manner that is balanced, flexible and resilient within a dynamically evolving geopolitical environment.