Understanding Chinese maritime behaviour: Opportunities for Malaysia-Japan cooperation in the

This is further complicated by the multiplicity of colonial administrations, such as the French in Indochina, the British in Malaya, and the Americans in the Philippines. [...] 2.2 Modernisation of the PLAN and shift in maritime thinking The second phase covers the modernisation of the PLAN and China’s integration into the international regime in the 1970s to the 2000s. [...] 2.3.1 East China Sea The situation in the East China Sea since the 2000s must be understood through the broader prism of the Sino-Japanese relationship, which had taken a turn in 2005 with the large- scale anti-Japanese demonstrations in China. [...] Overall, according to Adam Liff, four trends were seen in the East China Sea: (1) a quantitative surge in China’s activity in the waters and airspace, (2) increasing grey zone operations, (3) the deepening of ties between the CCG and the military, and (4) an expansion of the PLA’s capabilities and the geographical scope of its operations (2019). [...] The incident attracted the unwelcomed participation of the US and Australia, illustrating the growing international interest in the South China Sea disputes.