Why Malaysia Stays Quiet About Its Claims In The Disputed South China Sea

Forbes 13 hours ago 

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You would expect more noise out of Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian government claims a dozen Spratly islands in the disputed South China Sea. China and Taiwan claim them as well along with the rest of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea that’s packed with fish, gas and oil. Malaysia even opened one islet, Layang Layang, to diving tourism. The Southeast Asian country has reserves of 5 billion barrels of crude oil and 80 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in sea, more than other claimants, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says. But Malaysia says little about its claims compared to ever-vociferous neighbors such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Malaysia tries to avoid rocking ...