Malaysia

Following the US global ban on Chinese tech-company Huawei, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad came out stating that Malaysia would continue to roll out the company’s 5G cellular expansion. Additionally, China is investing heavily into Malaysia’s infrastructure with their Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is a global development strategy of China consisting of infrastructure development and heavy investments with 152 nations. The month following the 5G announcement, Malaysia accepted 12 surveillance drones from the US. Malaysia is hedging their options by attempting to continue their monetary access to Chinese investments while staying under the US security umbrella. Following talks with ASEAN last week, it is clear that China and the US want to flex their influence in Malaysia.