That the latest map of China issued by China's Ministry of Natural Resources includes a significant portion of Malaysian waters near Sabah and Sarawak is not surprising.
The current world order is drawn by the West, led by the United States, after the fall of the colonial powers in the aftermath of World War 2.
This world order is not written in stone - it is merely something that is held together by the hegemony of the West - consequently, it will only hold true for as long as the West rules the world.
Now that America, and the West in general, is seen to be in a state of decline, alternative world orders will arise to challenge the Western worldview.
The Chinese worldview is likely the first, but is not likely to be the last, to rise up to challenge the global order as constructed by the West.
China has long presented a Chinese world order through the 9-dash line, whereby China has staked claim to 90% of the South China Sea, based on its pre-World War 2 understanding of the world order.
Although the International Court in the Hague has deemed China's claim to have no legal basis, the judgement of the International Court itself is dependent on the ability of the West to rule the world. If the West does not rule the world, the judgement of the International Court itself will have no legal basis.
Legally, the concept of Malaysia was constructed by the British to reflect its position and worldview in the post-World War 2 era.
At its inception, the concept of Malaysia was even disputed by Indonesia and the Philippines. The Philippines, to this day, still maintains a claim on Sabah.
We cannot be sure whether China, Indonesia and the Philippines have accepted the existence of Malaysia as being true and fair in and of itself. For all we know, they might have just resigned themselves to accepting it, in deference to the hegemony of the West. Once they perceive that the West is no longer the hegemon of the world, there is no reason for us to believe that they will still continue to resign themselves to accept the existence of Malaysia, which they might still secretly believe to be nothing more than a Western construct.
We might no longer be able to depend on Western hegemony to protect the Malaysian identity for much longer.
The inability of the West to win against Russia in the war in Ukraine is clearly showing us that the West is not the supreme force that we tout it to be. America, the leader of the West, is also careening towards Civil War as its 2024 presidential election approaches.
The South China Sea is likely going to be a major theatre of conflict between the great powers of the world.
When these great powers play their Great Game in our backyard, the only thing we can rely on is ourselves.
What is at stake here is the Malaysian identity.
If we unite, we can not only stave off the destructive effect that these great powers might inadvertently inflict upon us as they contend amongst themselves, we might even be able to use their games to secure a better future for ourselves.
Like the late American President John F. Kennedy once said: “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger--but recognize the opportunity.”
If we are too absorbed in the squabbles that we are having amongst ourselves to see the danger that is developing all around us, the tug of war between the great powers of the world in our backyard might pull us in different directions and break us apart.
If we recognise the crisis, however, we can unite, and together, we might even be able to find new opportunities for ourselves despite the danger.
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