The air power dimension of Malaysia–Australia defence and security cooperation, 1971-2020

This thesis is a regional security complex study of Malaysia–Australia defence and security cooperation between 1971 and 2020, positioning air power as its geostrategic element. Given the paradox that, despite the RMAF Butterworth Airbase’s critical geostrategic importance in the region, the air power dimension of the Malaysia– Australia collaboration has nevertheless often been overlooked, the primary purpose of this thesis is to assess the interplay between air power and the securitisation of threats: that is, why and how has the air power dimension influenced defence and security cooperation between Malaysia and Australia in the ever-evolving strategic environment. To locate the answer, this thesis utilises the regional security complex framework of securitisation mechanism to study the relationship between air power and cooperation on defence and security. This study finds that it was the global, regional or interregional and domestic complexities spanning the Indo–Pacific, focusing on the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea connected through the Straits of Malacca to the Indian Ocean, which place the Butterworth Airbase as the linchpin of the convergence of air power. This study further finds that the long-standing bilateral defence relationship is rooted in the development of defence policy and air power, the most heightened Indo–Pacific security, perceptions of threats, reciprocal military engagement and economic/political imperatives. It also finds that the regional security complex theory has been able to accommodate a variety of conventional and unconventional security issues within the two nations’ maritime proximities that could be addressed through air power. At the conventional front, the security concerns were associated with interstate disputes and encroachments, including national security, unmanned combat aerial system, and the proliferation of missiles as through air threats. The unconventional issues are associated with the marine environment, economic development, human security as in unconventional maritime security, as well as cyber security. To date, this is the only study to examine the air power dimension of Malaysia–Australia defence and security cooperation through the prism of regional security complex theory. This thesis posits that the RMAF Butterworth Airbase demonstrates significant geo-strategic impacts via the air power dimension in the defence and security cooperation between both nations. With the existence of a “triangle of power competition”, both nations seek to address the security concerns through securitisation to which Malaysia’s defence policy is in-line with its foreign policy of neutrality and equidistance. This study suggests three avenues for future research: the air power dimension to constructively manage China via Malaysia-Australia security cooperation, further evaluations of the geostrategic significance demonstrated by the RMAF Butterworth Airbase via the lenses of military doctrine and the historical perspectives. Finally, this study strongly recommends that the Malaysian government to preserve the RMAF Butterworth Airbase in view of a self-reliant posture and precautionary measure for possible Australia’s withdrawal from this region. To achieve this, greater revolution in the hard and soft air power is crucial.