Phar Kim Beng is the CEO of Strategic Pan Indo-Pacific Arena, a Malaysian consultancy.
The mere mention of the South China Sea these days conjures images of confrontation between China and its military or other rival claimants. So many eyes turned after last week's leak of a diplomatic note (dated February 18) from China to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing calling on Kuala Lumpur to stop drilling in the South China Sea, even in Malaysia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). ).