NEGOTIATIONS surrounding several stalled China-led infrastructure projects in Malaysia will likely top the agenda for Council of Eminent Persons chairman Daim Zainuddin’s trip to Beijing today, said the South China Morning Post.

Former finance minister Daim is expected to meet top Chinese officials as a precursor to prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s planned trip to Beijing next month.

Weeks after coming into power, Dr Mahathir announced the suspension of several China-backed infrastructure projects inked during former prime minister Najib Razak’s administration.

These include the RM81 billion East Coast Rail Link, which on completion will connect the east coast of the peninsula with strategic shipping routes in the west.

The Finance Ministry is also investigating whether a loan from a Chinese state-owned bank was used to help bail out debt-laden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Daim’s visit today is expected to involve negotiations into resuming the stalled projects, said SCMP.

Sources told the newspaper that China has over the past month sent diplomats, and economic and public security officials to Kuala Lumpur in a bid to stabilise relations and prepare for Dr Mahathir’s visit.

Dr Mahathir has also said he hopes for a reduction in the presence of naval ships in the South China Sea, an issue he is likely to raise when he visits China, said Shahriman Lockman, a senior analyst at the Institute of Strategic & International Studies in Malaysia.

Malaysia occupies at least five features in the disputed Spratly Islands, including a small naval presence in the oceanic atoll known as Swallow Reef, which falls within the “nine-dash line” that marks China’s claims in the South China Sea.

Compared with other claimants to the disputed waterway, such as Vietnam, Malaysia has been reasonably quiet on the South China Sea issue. But Mahathir has called for warships operated by major powers to steer clear of the region to help ease tensions.

However, Zhang Mingliang, a specialist in Southeast Asian affairs at Jinan University, said it was unlikely that Dr Mahathir would seek to publicly antagonise China on the maritime dispute.

“Malaysia has been cautious and guarded towards China and relied on the US and Japan for protection,” he said.

Zhang said Beijing will hope to keep relations with Putrajaya as warm as possible in light of its trade dispute with the United States.

“China so far has avoided criticising Pakatan Harapan’s decision to halt the projects,” he was quoted as saying by SCMP.

“This will provide more favourable conditions for renegotiating the terms of the projects, which previously favoured Najib’s interests but not Malaysia’s.”

China was hoping the popularity of Dr Mahathir and PH would generate more support within Malaysia for closer ties with China, he said.

“As things are getting worse with the US, China needs to strengthen its circle of friends nearby, including Malaysia.” – July 18, 2018.