Some 200 years ago, Western imperialist powers often deployed their might warships to pressure local foreign powers into submitting to the former's will. The presence of their superior maritime power was leveraged to gain better concessions quicker than negotiations alone.
This practice that was later known as ‘gunboat diplomacy’, could be observed in some examples. In the first half of the 19th century, Britain - the most powerful superpower back then- used their naval prowess to force China to open its ports for trade, which include opium imports. Several years later, at the start of the second half of the same century, United States Navy officer Commodore Perry sent a fleet of warships to Japan, hitherto isolated from the rest of the world, to sign treaties opening its port to trade.
Southeast Asia too, is no stranger to this tactic. Siam, Indochina and Malaya had a fair share of experiencing the bitter taste of gunboat diplomacy by Britain and France. In Malaya, Britain deployed its warships and troops to the Perak River after the murder of its Resident J.W.W Birch to crush resistance and solidity colonial control.
Fast forward to the end of World War 2, the tactic seem to fall out of favor. The retreat of Western powers, the birth of new nation-states, and the creation of international laws and institutions have ushered in new era of so-called cooperation. Globalization means more countries are held together by means of international trade and multilateralism.
But gunboat diplomacy does not really go away in spite of the relatively peaceful time since the end of World War 2. It evolves in a subtler form. As gunboat evolved into aircraft carriers, these lethal weapons are often deployed by major powers near conflict zones as a show of force. The US and China have respective sent carrier groups to Taiwan Strait and in the South China Seas to establish their presence. There is also an economic equivalent of this use of tactic in modern era: economic sanctions.
Under Trump 2.0, The US is more prepared to invoke such tactic, this time without the usual moral pretension adorned in the soundbite of his predecessors.
The decision to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro took the world by surprise. American forces conducted what is now known as Operation Absolute Resolve in which they suppressed Venezuelan air defense, disabled its infrastructure, jammed communications and assaulted the Miraflores Palace before extracting Maduro and his wife.
Trump has shown, again and again that his administration pay zero attention to international law. While Western media are quick to show the ‘relief’ and celebration by Venezuelans across the world, the real intention has always been natural resources.
The Central American country has the world's largest proven oil reserve, with 303 billion barrels as of 2023. And Trump did not even try to hide this intention, adding that US companies will ‘invest billions of dollars to refurbish the country’s gutted oil industry’. Prior to this kidnapping, US warships have been chasing and seizing oil tankers suspected of carrying sanctioned Venezuelan crude.
Venezuela is not the first, nor will it be the last. Last year, Trump pressured Panama to ‘return’ the control of the Canal to the US, citing Chinese investment in the country's ports as a national security threat. As a result, a US-led consortium bought Chinese-owned ports for $22.8 Billion.
Trump is now eyeing Greenland, the world’s largest island, lying in the North Atlantic Ocean. The White House is said to ‘actively discussing’ options to acquire Greenland from Denmark, which include the use of military might.
The use of US forces is also on the table as protests in Iran escalate. Trump has announced that the was considering military options if the Iranian government does not stop killing protesters.
For countries in the Global South, this is a familiar story. From Malaya to Venezuela, from Indochina to Iran, the pattern is consistent: strategic interests dressed up as moral crusades. The names change, the rhetoric shifts, but the outcome remains the same. The return of overt gunboat diplomacy should serve as a reminder that true independence requires more than flags and anthems.
As for Malaysia, the country's aging fleet of fighter jets and warships will not help should any superpower come knocking our doors. There is an urgent need for the Malaysian Armed Forces to go on a shopping spree in defence assets. Decades of underinvestment, delayed procurement programmes, corruption and bureaucratic inertia have left the Malaysian Armed Forces operating platforms that are increasingly obsolete in modern warfare.
Without credible air and naval capabilities, Malaysia risks being reduced to a spectator in its own territorial waters. There is an urgent need for a comprehensive modernisation drive which Putrajaya could no longer ignore.
Ahmad Mustakim (ahmadmustakim.92@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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