After a dormant decade, calls for a new naval base in a sleepy town in Sarawak have gathered steam in recent weeks, with Malaysia potentially eyeing a more assertive stance against Chinese pressure in resource-rich areas near the Borneo state.
But in building Malaysia’s latest naval base in Bintulu, closer to the disputed waters in the South China Sea, analysts believe Putrajaya will still steer clear of stirring up the hornet’s nest.
Malaysia is unlikely to adopt more aggressive responses to Chinese vessel incursions, they told CNA, given its overarching aim to maintain its low-key approach on the maritime territorial claims and preserve its lucrative economic ties with Beijing.
China, currently embroiled in its own scuffles with the Philippines in the same strategic waterways farther north, will also be keen to keep its ties with Malaysia on an even keel, hoping to alienate Manila from other Southeast Asian claimant states, the analysts said.
Dr Collin Koh, a senior fellow at Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the Sarawak naval base will not alter China-Malaysia ties as long as the Malaysian government continues to keep a “non-megaphone” approach to the dispute.
“The naval base and potentially increased Malaysian maritime presence in the area may come across as a nuisance to Beijing, but that’s just it,” he told CNA.
“End of the day, it’s the political demeanour in Kuala Lumpur, not what’s happening on the ground with Malaysia’s naval buildup in Borneo, that seems to be the key determinant in overall relationship with Beijing.”
CHINESE VESSELS “LIKE CLOCKWORK”
The Region 4 Naval Headquarters in Bintulu will be Malaysia’s sixth main naval base. The country has three bases in West Malaysia and another two in Sabah.
The Malaysian government has said that the latest base will improve surveillance efforts in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea by allowing the navy to send ships there faster.
The base, which will be home to Malaysia’s three new littoral mission ships, will be built on a 200-acre site in Samalaju, northern Bintulu. Construction will reportedly be done in two phases, with the base expected to be inaugurated in 2030.
Malaysia’s EEZ comprises areas abundant in oil and gas that it says contribute almost 25 per cent to its gross domestic product. These include the Luconia Shoals or what Malaysia calls Beting Patinggi Ali and Beting Raja Jarum, a group of mostly submerged reefs that lie between various Malaysian oil and gas sites 155km off the coast of Sarawak.
China, which claims most of the South China Sea within its so-called nine-dash line, has regularly protested against Malaysia’s activities in the Luconia Shoals and has maintained a constant presence there. Chinese coast guard vessels have reportedly harassed Malaysian drilling rigs and survey ships.
A report released by the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) on Oct 1 cited tracking data that showed Chinese coast guard ships operated in Malaysia’s EEZ “like clockwork” in 2024.
From Jan 1 to Sep 27, AMTI found that at least one Chinese coast guard vessel was in the area nearly every day, remaining there for up to six weeks before being relieved by another ship.
On Aug 29, a Philippine news outlet published a diplomatic note sent in February to the Malaysian embassy in Beijing, in which China demanded that Malaysia cease all activities in the resource-rich area.
Despite the high stakes, Malaysia will be wary that further escalation on its part will risk a harsher response from China’s far superior naval forces, mirroring a situation the Philippines now finds itself in, experts told CNA.
“If Malaysia is doing the same (as the Philippines), we might expect China to escalate its moves against its interests in the South China Sea,” Dr Koh said.
Besides the trio, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan also have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
Malaysia has largely played down Chinese incursions in its EEZ and kept to its longstanding, non-confrontational approach in the South China Sea, preferring to turn to diplomatic channels and refusing to let the tensions colour its bilateral relationship with China.
A view of the waterfront area in Kuching, Sarawak at dusk. (Photo: CNA/Fadza Ishak)
But in recent months, senior politicians in Sarawak have publicly urged the federal government to beef up naval presence in the state, warning of China’s actions and the devastating consequences of losing such an economically crucial area to a foreign power.
On the same day news about the Chinese diplomatic note was first published, Sarawak’s Tourism, Creative Industries and Performing Arts Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah called for the construction of the naval base to be expedited.
“Recently, China has become more powerful and possesses a strong naval fleet, making them increasingly vocal and aggressive in expanding their maritime boundaries by showcasing their maritime assets in those waters,” he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.
“Malaysia’s wealth in oil and gas lies there. What will happen if the sovereignty of that area is eroded by the expansion of maritime boundaries by a superpower?”
Malaysian Defence Minister Khaled Nordin told local media in August that the federal government was in the final stages of negotiating with Sarawak the land price for the naval base, with construction expected to start after an agreement is reached. No timeline for completion has been given.
WILL SARAWAK NAVAL BASE COUNTER CHINA?
Plans to build the Bintulu naval base, which will be Sarawak’s first, was first confirmed in 2013 but only gained traction in 2023 after a suitable spot in Samalaju Industrial Park was found. Sarawak’s waters were previously thought to be too shallow to accommodate a base.
Meanwhile, Malaysia has relied on naval ships stationed at a more distant base in Sabah to patrol its EEZ. Sabah has two main bases: One in Teluk Sepanggar near Kota Kinabalu and another in Sandakan.
Then-defence minister Mohamad Hasan told parliament in September 2023 that ships from the nearest Teluk Sepanggar base would take 19 hours to reach Beting Patinggi Ali, compared to nine hours from Bintulu at the same speed of 12 knots (22kmh).
Teluk Sepanggar naval base near Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. (Photo: Facebook/Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia)
With Sabah and Sarawak having thousands of kilometres of coastline, a lack of naval bases will lead to poor accessibility and response times during a crisis, exposing Malaysia to external threats, an expert warned.
Dr Tharishini Krishnan, a senior lecturer at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, wrote in a 2021 commentary published by the New Straits Times that setting up a base in Sarawak will “reduce the overstretched logistical support” from Sabah in overseeing these areas.
“Moreover, the physical existence of MAWILLA 4 will deny China’s effort to persistently seek to alter the status quo there,” she said, using the abbreviated name for the Bintulu naval base.
