Jadsen Mayfield
Bennett High School
Abstract
Modern-day Malaysia, originally Malaya, took shape as a relatively small, militarily weak country with formidable ethnic cleavages and substantial underdevelopment. A succession of Malayan/Malaysian leaders have responded to these challenges with two main foreign policy platforms: alignment with the West from 1957-1970, and non-alignment and neutralism from about 1970 to the present. During the first period, a newly-independent Malaya relied on the former colonial power, the United Kingdom, to provide for its defense. From about 1970 on, however, the withdrawal of British and American forces from the region, coupled with the impact of the 1969 race riots, forced Malaysian leaders to craft new foreign policies of non-alignment and neutralism. Since 1970, Malaysian foreign policy has emphasized strong diplomatic and economic ties with many countries in the region and beyond, notably China.
