ABSTRACT
Malaysia’s Mahathir-led government appeared to have significantly toned down its harsh criticism against Beijing’s BRI-related investments. This was apparent when it re-approved key projects that had been suspended, namely the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL). To top it all, Mahathir even went from being a skeptic to being a believer in the BRI. Many critics might appraise Kuala Lumpur’s sudden attitude change as a time-inconsistent foreign policy behavior. It simply shows how economic interests invariably trump principled foreign policy. This present chapter, nonetheless, argues the opposite. Using game theoretic modelling, the chapter demonstrates that, while Malaysia’s changing attitude triggers the issue of commitment problems, Malaysia’s strategic employment of diplomacy moderates the resulting adverse effects. The Malaysian BRI diplomacy represents a strategic foreign policy behavior. Furthermore, the model forecasted a threshold point for Malaysia that will tip the balance in favor of either the national interest or diplomatic expediency vis-à-vis the BRI. As Malaysia chose to favor her national interest, China would quickly find itself in a diplomatic quagmire. The chapter concludes that Malaysia is consistently playing its best response toward China, thus revealing a pragmatic foreign policy behavior.
