AMID geopolitical tensions in the Spratlys, Putrajaya must tread carefully. The recent spats off the Laconia Shoals do raise questions on whether an increasingly assertive China has changed its policy despite Putrajaya's support of China's grandiose geopolitical projects like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
And whether China is moving more aggressively southward from the Spratlys, where it has transformed several artificial islands into garrisons, in a kind of creeping annexation into Malaysia's maritime waters.
Is Beijing building a new sand wall in the Laconia Shoals and possibly putting a permanent naval presence on James Shoal, an underwater feature that is embedded on the continental shelf of Malaysia? These questions call for face-to-face diplomacy and adroit statesmanship.
It is not easy to keep calm after such a stormy incident. However, Putrajaya should not be too hasty in demonising China when it has few cards to play.
Although recent spats at sea shouldn't be treated as little bumps in our diplomatic relations, roughening up with a neighbour with a modern military, the world's largest economy and a 6,000-year-old civilisation can be very messy.
The bumps are manageable aberrations in state relations. Few countries dare take on the military might of China.
Malaysia became the first Asean state to establish diplomatic relations with China in May 1974. What began as a calculated diplomatic strategy has since 1990 spilled over into economic, cultural, educational and military ties.
Despite disagreement over China's extensive territorial claims in the Spratlys, Malaysia doesn't consider China a hostile power. On the contrary, following the decision to establish diplomatic ties and despite the memory of a brutal insurgency inspired by Communist China, Malaysia has adopted a friendly approach towards China.
Since the launch of the BRI in 2013, economic ties between China and Malaysia have improved tremendously, with China becoming Malaysia's largest trading partner in the last decade, with bilateral trade increasing from US$63.6 billion in 2017 to US$77.7 billion in 2018.
China has invested more than US$43.8 billion over the past 10 years in Malaysia, including bailing out the once-ailing Proton, the national car project that then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad pioneered in the 1980s, taking 49 per cent of the equity.
While an accommodative economic policy may not earn diplomatic favours when chips are down, a strong economic relationship takes years to develop.
The challenge to policy planners is balancing economic benefits with security considerations. Past credentials provide ample confidence that we can once again rise to the challenge. Adroit diplomacy and common sense will see us through.
In 1974, we were faced with a similar situation when Tun Abdul Razak Hussein journeyed to Beijing to ask China to stop supporting the armed insurgency. When Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was defence minister, he maintained very close personal relations with China's military, buying four littoral mission ships from China during his tenure.
As foreign minister, he is the right person to reset defence diplomacy with China. In time of rising geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea and uncertainty, it is wise for Putrajaya to stay away from entanglements.
The Chinese have a proverb: "If you are patient in moments of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow."
The writer is a professor at the Department of Strategic Studies, National Defence University
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times