Is Malaysia Really a ‘Maritime’ Nation?
Despite its close connection to the maritime domain, Malaysia still thinks and behaves strategically like a continental power.
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May 25, 2021
The Royal Malaysian Navy and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency take part in maritime training exercise with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, August 16, 2019.
Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tristin Barth
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In its first Defense White Paper, published in 2019, Malaysia proclaimed itself to be a “maritime nation with continental roots.” Indeed, the nation has a unique geography: peninsular Malaysia is connected to the larger Eurasian continent via the Isthmus of Kra, while East Malaysia consists of two states – Sabah and Sarawak – located far off on the island of Borneo, together with Brunei and Indonesia’s Kalimantan. Malaysia has long coastlines, large maritime Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), and contine
Does the dispute over the Al-Aqsa Mosque affect the Levantine Greeks?
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The current crisis between Israel and the Palestinians is the latest round in a long conflict between Jews and Muslims over Jerusalem and the Holy Land. This conflict increased in violence and cruelty after the return of millions of Jews to the Holy Land in the nineteenth century and the establishment of the State of Israel as their national and religious homeland in 1948.
The conflict is currently focused on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was built by the Muslims after their second caliph Omar occupied Jerusalem in the year 636 AC. By the Al-Aqsa Mosque, we mean a large complex of more than 140,000 square meters, surrounded by a wall, and including several mosques and Islamic religious sites.