Why are South China Sea disputes hard to resolve? Power ‘asymmetry’, Malaysian expert says
2025-12-12 09:49:27 source：SCMP
December 12, 2025
An inherent “asymmetry” of power poses a challenge to resolving South China Sea disputes via the quiet diplomacy traditionally favoured by Southeast Asian nations, a leading Malaysian security expert has said.
Chinese analysts said Beijing supported the “Asean way” too, so long as sovereignty claims were resolved bilaterally. They also warned against external interference and “power politics” standing in the way of consensus within the bloc.
Ruhanas Harun, an international relations professor at the National Defence University of Malaysia, said that Asean member states had turned to “quiet diplomacy” to resolve their maritime disputes.
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