The MH 370 Tragedy. Deterioration of Relations between China and Malaysia | Global Research

The MH 370 Tragedy. Deterioration of Relations between China and Malaysia | Global Research

There is an irony in this. On the occasion of the fortieth
anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China
and Malaysia, Sino-Malaysian ties are at their lowest ebb.

In the wake of the MH 370 tragedy, relatives of some of the Chinese
passengers on that ill-fated flight, a segment of the Chinese media and a
section of the public have chosen to vent their anger against Malaysia.
Malaysian leaders and MAS officials have been labelled ‘liars’ and
‘murderers’; Malaysian celebrities with a following in China have been
verbally abused; a demonstration has been held outside the Malaysian
Embassy in Beijing; and there have been calls to boycott Malaysian
products. At the same time, there are Chinese citizens who have come out
in defence of Malaysia.

The anger and frustration among relatives of some of the passengers
is understandable to a point. 153 of the 227 passengers were Chinese
nationals. For some of them the loss of a son or daughter means the end
of the family line, given the one-child policy of the last few decades.
Besides, Malaysian authorities in the initial days also exacerbated the
angst and agony of the relatives through some contradictory statements
about the lost airliner. They have also not been able to explain
satisfactorily why an “unidentified object” captured on Malaysian
military radar in the early hours of the 8th of March — later confirmed
as the missing aircraft — did not evoke a prompt response from the
Malaysian air force. This is an issue which Chinese relatives have
repeatedly raised at MAS briefings in Beijing.