With U.S.-China tensions dividing the international arena, significant pressure looms over Southeast Asia. Which side will these nations take? Will they remain neutral? As President Joe Biden looks to secure partnerships among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Malaysia, in particular, has emerged as a potential strategic partner.

Since establishing a comprehensive partnership in 2014, Washington and Kuala Lumpur have shared a diverse and expanding partnership in trade, investment, security, environmental cooperation, and educational and cultural exchanges. Despite these solid relations, the United States has not been able to completely win over the country’s allegiance due to a multitude of diverging views on key issues. 

Although Malaysia may subscribe to a neutral foreign policy stance regarding America and China’s strategic competition, it has shown less prudence when it comes to Israel and Palestine. This was most recently affirmed on October 16, following Hamas’ violent attack on Israel. Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim refused to condemn the Palestinian militant group and even went as far as to reassure the international community of Malaysia’s commitment to its relationship with Hamas. 

Historically, Malaysia has always been a staunch supporter of Palestine in the region’s territorial dispute, backing calls for a two-state solution based on the United Nations 1949 Armistice Line. However, it appears that the Southeast Asian nation has now shifted its focus from aligning itself with the Palestinian cause to aligning itself in opposition to Israel, no matter the cost. 

Not only does Malaysia reject diplomatic relations with Israel, but it also refuses to distinguish the Palestinian people from a group that is internationally recognized as a terrorist organization and outwardly states its commitment to the annihilation of Israel. Instead, it is one of the few countries that facilitate official and high-ranking visits with the group, citing Hamas’ legitimacy as an elected government (elections have not been held since 2006). That said, Israel’s security services have claimed that several trips to Malaysia by Hamas members were not for reasons of international diplomacy, including military training for operatives intent to return to Gaza. 

After the viral release of videos showing Hamas fighters breaching Israel’s southern border on the morning of Saturday, October 7, one of the mechanisms that distinctly stood out was the use of motorized paragliders to sail over the top of the twenty-foot-high metal fence. Hamas has never employed this tactic before, and its use resurfaced accusations made as far back as 2014 by Israel’s intelligence agency, Shin Bet, that militants were being trained in Malaysia to use paragliders for a cross-border attack. 

Malaysia has always denied such claims, but Israel’s intelligence agency discovered the information from a captured Hamas operative who confessed to at least ten fighters affiliated with the terror group going to Malaysia for paragliding training. He also admitted that the training was specifically in preparation for an attack on Israel’s southern border, a plan that has now unfolded in 2023. 

The Biden Administration has backed Israel resolutely in the past weeks, with the president visiting Israel in a grand show of support. In the face of what Biden described as “the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust,” Malaysia’s support for international terrorism may create a rift strong enough to prevent further advances in the bilateral partnership. 

Alongside Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, American leaders have made clear that they will not accept Hamas as standing for the “Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination.” The United States has also pressured the international community to unanimously condemn the group’s violent assault as “acts of hate and pure cruelty.” But Prime Minister Ibrahim has forcefully rejected calls to hold Hamas responsible for its actions and instead continues to blame Israel for causing its own suffering.

Such continued support places Washington in a precarious position with a critical security partner in its Indo-Pacific strategy. It must be remembered, however, that although Malaysia has worked to position itself as a middle power in the ongoing great power rivalry, it has not fully aligned itself with the United States. As recently as April 2023, Malaysia’s prime minister endorsed the Chinese leadership’s narrative of “a community with a shared future.” 

China has, for the most part, prioritized regional economic interests in its reaction to growing conflict in the Middle East, refusing even to employ the word terrorism in its reference to Hamas. At a time when Washington is seeking to actively reassert its position of influence as a global power in the Middle East, it must remember that lax approaches, even to allies, run the risk of being perceived as weakness. 

Indeed, it is precisely this sort of weakness that has driven regional partners closer to Beijing. Many believe that Washington no longer ascribes sufficient strategic value to the region. Standing firm against Malaysian intransigence may challenge the U.S.-Malaysian relationship temporarily. However, looking the other way when a strategic partner overtly expresses support for terrorism, which the United States has itself faced and fought so fiercely to combat the world over, runs the even greater risk of painting American policy as weak and hypocritical at a time when it should instead be projecting power and resilience.   

Harry Richer is a foreign policy analyst and currently a senior aide and economic advisor to a member of the UK Parliament.

Image: Abdul Razak Latif / Shutterstock.