DEFENCE WHITE PAPER 48. ii. Present. Since attaining independence in August 1957, the present-day Malaysia has actively forged cooperation with countries in different parts of the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. Malaysia’s active initiatives began with Southeast Asian regionalism. Since the 1990s, it has grown deeper within, and gradually extended between the two regions. Over the decades, Malaysian activism has developed into multiple layers of diplomatic, developmental and defence cooperative platforms between and across the two ocean regions. These include ASEAN-led cooperation namely East Asian integration, ASEAN-Plus Three (APT) and other parallel dialogue processes, South-South Cooperation, the Singapore-Kunming Rail Link (SKRL), the ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation (AMBDC), the Malacca Straits Patrol (MSP), the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA) in the Sulu Sea and Sulawesi Sea, the Malaysia Field Hospital (MFH) in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the multi-level defence partnerships with countries across the Pacific and the Indian Oceans, as well as our longstanding contributions to UN Peacekeeping Operations in various parts of the world. These platforms are indispensable instruments for pursuing Malaysia’s core interests and international standing. iii. Future. In light of the fast-changing international environment, it is timely for Malaysia to envision a new direction, turning the existing platforms into a more coherent Malaysian middlepowership, while cultivating new possibilities. The bridging linchpin vision is a crucial step to move into this direction, to better position Malaysia at a time when the big power dynamics in and across the two regions are creating greater uncertainties for Malaysia. The vision may serve to enhance both internal resilience and external partnerships. Internally, as a developing, multi-ethnic country with Muslim majority, Malaysia embraces the values of inclusivity, consultative dialogue and progressiveness, in tandem with the concepts of ‘Rahmatan lil ‘alamin’ (mercy to all) and ‘Maqasid Syari’ah’ (higher objectives of the syariah). The diversity of culture can be an asset and strength for the nation to be a bridging linchpin between the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. Malaysia is known to be courageous and quick-witted like the Sang Kancil (mousedeer). As narrated in Sejarah Melayu (the Malay Annals), the mousedeer spirit is exemplary for its smart and adroit manoeuvres to survive. The bridging linchpin vision, by underscoring Malaysia’s non-aligned and inter-regional potentials, increases our contributions as a credible partner in the eyes of the international community. 18