The team of eight Chinese coronavirus experts waved flags and gave the thumbs up when they arrived in Kuala Lumpur on April 19. If not for the masks they were wearing, the cameras would probably have caught their wide grins.

Such is the face of Beijing’s “mask diplomacy” or “virus diplomacy” that has seen medical aid sent to over 120 countries worldwide, including most of South-east Asia.

But this cheerful front comes amid an escalating stand-off between China and other claimants, including Malaysia, over disputed waters of the South China Sea.

On April 16, China’s Haiyang Dizhi 8 survey ship, reportedly flanked by more than 10 vessels, began shadowing a drillship contracted by Malaysian state oil firm Petronas to explore for oil off its coast, in waters also claimed by China and Vietnam.

China’s move set off the United States, which sent at least two warships into the fray. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo accused China of “exploiting” the global focus on the coronavirus by “intimidating other claimants” in the South China Sea.

Analysts say this is Beijing’s way of reaffirming its dominance in the waters, even as the world is grappling with the pandemic that originated in Hubei province last year.

China claims most of the South China Sea, as marked on its “nine-dash-line” map, which is not recognised by its neighbours nor the United Nations.

Singapore Institute of International Affairs’ senior fellow Oh Ei Sun told The Straits Times: “The overall scheme of simultaneous heightened South China Sea presence on the one hand and ping-pong virus diplomacy on the other is a continuation of China’s longstanding carrot-and-stick foreign policy strategy in the region, which previously saw Belt and Road initiatives going hand in hand with pushing territorial claims.”

Malaysia is among several nations which assisted China in its fight against the coronavirus epidemic, by donating 18 million gloves in January.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said last month “we will reciprocate their kindness without any hesitation”. In addition to the experts, Beijing has sent protective gear, testing kits and ventilators.

The Philippines, Cambodia and Laos have received medical expertise and equipment, while Thailand and Indonesia received tonnes of medical supplies.

The stakes are high for governments in South-east Asia, with the outbreak threatening their people’s health, the economy and political stability. It would be tough, therefore, to decline Beijing’s generosity and the diplomatic ramifications that come with it.

Malaysia has sought to defuse territorial tensions, with Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein saying the dispute should be resolved peacefully as “the presence of warships and vessels in the South China Sea has the potential to increase tensions that in turn may result in miscalculations which may affect peace, security and stability in the region”.

Malaysia’s middle-ground approach reflects the balancing act the region is having to negotiate as existing enmity between China and the US over trade has deepened in a blame game over the pandemic.

Dr Cheong Kee Cheok, senior fellow at University of Malaya’s Institute of China Studies, said: “I don’t think the South China Sea is negotiable for China. But that aside, relations remain cordial. What we should be concerned about is lack of leadership in Asean while China is leveraging the pandemic to promote its ‘health Silk Road’.”

The stakes are high for governments in South-east Asia, with the outbreak threatening their people’s health, the economy and political stability.

It would be tough, therefore, to decline Beijing’s generosity and the diplomatic ramifications that come with it.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is unlikely to cool ties with China, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies’ senior fellow Johan Saravanamuttu told ST, as the spoils of “virus diplomacy come with the West and US in no position to help”.

He added: “China is flouting its soft power. If China develops the vaccine first, Malaysia will have first call, given their collaboration on the virus.”

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