ABSTRACT
A more decisive change in foreign policy occurred after Tun Razak became prime minister in 1970. Tun Razak and other Malaysian politicians had been voicing ideas about making approaches to mainland China and neutralization for some time previous to 1971, but it was only in that year that the jigsaw began to form a coherent picture. The mechanics of Malaysia's approach to China followed a predictable pattern: reciprocal visits by trade missions, followed by a Razak visit to China in May 1974 that resulted in establishment of diplomatic relations. The fall of the South Vietnamese and Kampuchean governments in 1975 led to a further turning point in Malaysian, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), foreign policy. The relations between the ASEAN countries are of importance because a primary requisite for their survival is that they should be both internally stable and sufficiently cohesive to withstand external threats. Malaysia's economic performance and policies have been influenced by the ASEAN context.
