It’s all in the name … or is it?

 

Territorial disputes have often led to armed conflicts.

But now, a lawmaker in Malaysia has offered a new solution: a name change.

This, she believes, will have the desired effect of making aggressors think twice about exerting control over other countries’ territorial possessions.

During a debate on the Supply Bill 2025 at the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, Perikatan Nasional’s MP for Tumpat Mumtaz Nawi mooted the idea that Malaysia changes the name of the area within its maritime borders to “Laut Melayu” or “Malay Sea”.

She said this would fend off any territorial claims by other countries, particularly China, which has an ongoing dispute over parts of the South China Sea with Malaysia and several other Asean countries.

Mumtaz said there was already a precedence, citing the West Philippine Sea, North Natuna Sea and East Sea around the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam respectively.

There have been many claims of incursions by Chinese vessels into the territorial waters of these four countries.

For instance, a Chinese warship was seen near an oil platform off Sarawak but within the Malaysian maritime borders recently, while the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia have also reported similar intrusions over the years.

Contrary to Mumtaz’s argument, renaming their territorial waters have not actually helped ward off the Chinese from the maritime borders of the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Perhaps she can explain how it will be different for Malaysia.

Historically, the name of the South East Asian body of water has never been a factor in China’s designs for the region.

When the Western Zhou Dynastry ruled China for 500 years from 771 BCE, South East Asian territories had been cowed into sending tributes of hawksbill sea turtles in exchange for peace.

Back then, the Chinese referred to the South China Sea as “Nan Hai” or simply “South Sea”.

Perhaps using their name for a region they regarded as their inferior was beneath the Chinese.

The “Malay Sea” name had indeed been used for the entire body of water from the 7th to 11th centuries when Majapahit, Srivijaya and other Hindu-Buddhist empires ruled South East Asia.

It was so named to reflect the culture of the majority of the people in the region.

Even then, the Chinese continued to receive tributes from their southern neighbours but these were in exchange for trade permits that turned out to be more valuable than the tributes.

It was the Portuguese, who came to the region in the 16th century, who named it “Mar da China Meridional”, which translates to “South China Sea”.

But China’s powers began to wane after that and by the 19th century, the emperor no longer held sway over its neighbours, leading to the collapse of the tributary system.

Ironically, the Portuguese name for the sea endured.

Perhaps Mumtaz can explain how a name change will make a difference this time. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.