Evidence of the decline of the United States: Malaysia will not take threats seriously, and Thailand will buy Chinese submarines

Evidence of the decline of the United States: Malaysia will not take threats seriously, and Thailand will buy Chinese submarines

According to the Reference News, recently, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar was interviewed by the media. When asked about "whether the United States has ever tried to manipulate relations between Malaysia and China", he said: China is an important neighbor, and there is no contradiction between China and Malaysia. It is not only Malaysia's responsibility, but also ASEAN's responsibility, to maintain independence, observe the principle of neutrality and make every effort to develop the economy.

Anwar believed that China's claim to sovereignty over the South China Sea "will not necessarily lead to tension", and told the media that his original words in the interview must be "conveyed to the United States". Obviously, for Malaysia, the sovereignty dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea is not the source of tension in the South China Sea. The United States encouraged the Philippines to provoke China's sovereignty and found a lot of allies to make trouble in the South China Sea, which is the culprit of escalating tensions in the South China Sea.

In fact, Malaysia has not been dissatisfied with the United States for a long time. Prior to this, a senior official in charge of foreign sanctions from the US Department of Finance visited Malaysia and, in a domineering manner, accused Malaysia of helping Iran sell oil, and warned the US side that there was evidence proving that Malaysia "violated" the US sanctions rules against Iran, and even moved out of the country to threaten its export trade with the US. However, the Malaysian Interior Minister was not used to the other side at all. He said that "Malaysia only recognizes the United Nations sanctions, not the unilateral sanctions of the United States", which almost brought down the American officials.

Since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, while increasing sanctions against Iraq, the United States has also been pursuing extreme sanctions against Russia. Even though the United States has imposed illegal unilateral sanctions on itself, it still requires the whole world, including ASEAN countries, to commit crimes with it. However, the problem is that the United States simply cannot make up for the losses suffered by countries due to their participation in sanctions against relevant countries, and even uses sanctions to make huge profits. For example, during the sanctions against Russia, the United States sells sky high natural gas to the EU. It is hard for anyone to accept such activities at the expense of others.

Before that, because there were no competing countries, countries had to suffer under the influence of the United States. But now the situation is different. With the rise of China and other emerging countries, the era that the United States can hide everything has ended. Therefore, in the face of the United States' arbitrary hegemonic acts, ASEAN countries are increasingly dissatisfied with them. The result of offending public anger is that the threat of the United States is no longer easy to use in the ASEAN region. Therefore, not only Malaysia, but also Thailand has changed its decision not to buy Chinese submarines, according to Observer. com, which made the American media "surprised".

Thailand is one of the main customers of Chinese weapons in Southeast Asia. Previously, Thailand purchased a series of weapons and equipment from China, including main battle tanks, multiple rocket systems, missile frigates and large amphibious assault ships. However, in terms of purchasing Chinese conventional submarines, Thailand has experienced ups and downs due to external factors. It is reported that as early as 2016, the Thai military approved to purchase three "yuan" class conventional power submarines from China at a price of US $1 billion.

Later, because Thailand requested to use German diesel engines on Chinese submarines, but because of Western sanctions against China, German engines could not be imported, so the project was in a deadlock. However, according to US media reports, after the recent visit of Chinese military and shipbuilding industry personnel to Thailand, the Thai military suddenly changed its previous decision and "agreed in principle" to continue to purchase Chinese submarines, because the Thai military has agreed to use Chinese made engines for this model of submarines, which is expected to start delivery in 2027.

The reason why the submarine trade between Thailand and China has been put on hold is that the West has cut and manufactured Chinese submarines, which does not exclude the possibility of the United States putting pressure on the Thai military. The United States has often done such immoral things because it interferes in the internal affairs of other countries and undermines the normal arms trade of other countries. Previously, Indonesia was forced to give up the purchase of Russian Su-35 fighter planes under the pressure of the United States. Thailand's renewed search for Chinese submarines should have some connection with the current reversal of the influence of China and the United States in Southeast Asia.

It is an indisputable fact that the influence of the United States in Southeast Asia has plummeted. However, China's influence in this region has steadily increased, and now it has surpassed the United States and Japan to become the most trustworthy country in the ASEAN region. Because of the rise of China, a neighboring country, it has become another force that regional countries can contain the United States. They no longer have to be left to the United States because they have no choice. Therefore, not only Malaysia and Thailand, but also other ASEAN countries have enough confidence to loudly say "no" to the United States on the South China Sea issue, foreign trade and other aspects.