appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Maria Siow

Brunei’s measured defence ties with Beijing reflect its low-key approach to South China Sea disputes, with analysts saying that goals such as peacekeeping offer the safest room for both sides to maintain diplomacy.
A meeting between Bruneian and Chinese defence officials in Beijing last week, when both nations pledged closer practical cooperation and support for regional stability, underscored that tact.
But observers also expect ties to remain modest, constrained by maritime claims and Bandar Seri Begawan’s preference for a diversified network of security partners.
Last Tuesday, Brunei Defence Minister Halbi Mohammad Yussof led a delegation to meet Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun on the sidelines of the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum.

Both sides stressed continued engagement via Asean-led mechanisms, particularly the annual Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) security forum.
The meeting came on the heels of Dong’s July visit to Bandar Seri Begawan to call on Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who described defence cooperation as a key pillar of their strategic cooperative partnership. He added that Brunei looked forward to more port calls by the Chinese Navy.
Stressing that peace in the South China Sea was in the interests of all regional countries, Dong said China was ready to strengthen practical cooperation with Brunei in maritime security and relevant areas to safeguard stability in the region.
‘Non-sensitive activities’
Brunei’s “very modest” defence ties with China were partly due to the Southeast Asian state’s small military but also rival claims in the South China Sea, said Ian Storey, principal fellow at the Singapore-based Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute.
“This presents a barrier to closer defence ties,” he said, noting that the two did not hold large-scale joint exercises and Brunei did not buy arms from China.
Instead, Brunei’s defence diplomacy with China is focused on regular dialogue, educational exchanges and cooperation in Association of Southeast Asian Nations-led security forums. It also includes small-scale naval exchanges such as port visits and simple passage exercises.
“While there is scope for increased defence cooperation … growth is likely to be incremental and will remain centred on non-sensitive activities,” he said, adding that Brunei’s closest defence partners would remain the UK, Australia and the United States.

Like Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, Brunei has territorial and maritime disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea. Its claims of a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf off its coast in the South China Sea overlap with China’s expansive nine-dash line.
But it operates as a “silent claimant” – the only one without a permanent military presence on any of the disputed features.
Abdul Rahman Yaacob, a research fellow at the Rabdan Security and Defence Institute in the United Arab Emirates, said while Chinese government and non-government vessels had entered Brunei’s EEZ, they operated closer to the “outer limits”.
There had been no confrontations as Chinese vessels would comply with requests to leave Brunei’s EEZ when asked by the Bruneian navy, he added. “Therefore, the situation looks good for Brunei at this point.”
As a small country with modest military and naval capabilities, Brunei traditionally placed greater emphasis on international law, diplomacy, and cooperation to manage tensions and protect its interests, Rahman said.
Last year, Bandar Seri Begawan and Beijing explored opportunities for joint exploration in the South China Sea, reflecting the former’s preference for “cooperation and negotiated arrangements over confrontation”.
Brunei has also worked with Malaysia on offshore energy development. The Gumusut-Kakap/Geronggong-Jagus East Phase 4 project began delivering oil last year.
“For Brunei, such cooperation is not simply an economic calculation. It is also part of a broader strategy of managing strategic vulnerability,” Rahman said.
Beijing’s attempts to engage Brunei and regional nations such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia on defence stem from Chinese perception of Southeast Asia as its own “backyard”, according to Rahman.
“China prefers reduced US influence, especially in defence and security, in this part of the world.”
While the Xiangshan meeting was being held, the Bruneian military hosted the five-day US Navy and Coast Guard for the 27th annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) exercises, which ended on Friday.
Hafiizh Hashim, a lecturer at the University of Brunei Darussalam’s Academy of Brunei Studies, said this reflected the kingdom’s long-standing preference for maintaining a broad and diversified network of defence relationships.


Brunei’s challenge, he said, was somewhat different from other larger South China Sea claimants.
“As a small state, it has an interest in protecting its maritime rights while also ensuring that the South China Sea does not become so securitised that it undermines regional stability or constrains Brunei’s diplomatic space,” Hafiizh said.
Peacekeeping would remain one of the clearest areas for expanding practical defence cooperation, he said. This includes joint planning, training and preparations for a multinational field training exercise set to be held in Brunei later this year.
Both Brunei and China are currently co-chairing the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations.
“[This will] strengthen professional capabilities, build confidence and more importantly, contribute to wider regional peace and stability,” Hafiizh said, adding that cooperation would remain focused on relatively “non-confrontational” areas.
But Brunei’s status as the “quietest” South China Sea claimant, however, was not a sign of docility, Hafiizh said. “Quiet diplomacy should not be mistaken for inactivity.”
Brunei, he noted, was actively supporting regional peace and stability including through Asean-led mechanisms and dialogue, and its consistent emphasis on international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“Brunei has generally avoided allowing the South China Sea dispute to define the entirety of its relationship with China,” he said.
“Its relatively quiet diplomacy is therefore less about passivity and more about managing competing interests without unnecessarily escalating them.”


Why Brunei prefers ‘quiet diplomacy’ over confrontation in South China Sea

Xi and Trump face their greatest challenge yet: building US-China trust

Success of Xi-Trump summit lies in what happens afterwards

Why China is weighing into the debate on how to respond to shrinking coastlines

South China Sea

Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (left) and son Prince Abdul Mateen arrive for the Asean Summit welcome ceremony in Cebu, Philippines, on May 8. Photo: EPA

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun delivers the keynote speech at the opening ceremony for the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Maritime claims in the South China Sea. Graphic: SCMP

Southeast Asia supports multilateralism, wary of US or China leadership: survey

The ASEAN flag flies alongside the flags of member countries ahead of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Langkawi, Malaysia in January 2025. Photo: Reuters

The flags of the US, Asean, and China. A recent global survey shows Southeast Asian nations favour broad international cooperation while balancing relations between the two countries. Photo: Shutterstock

Containers at the Pasir Panjang port terminal in Singapore in June. Photo: AFP

South China Sea island build-up heightens Vietnam’s security concerns

A satellite image taken by Vantor on August 17 shows China’s construction work at Yagong Island. Photo: Vantor / AFP

A combination of handout satellite images released by Vantor on August 25 shows China’s construction work at Antelope Reef on December 13, 2025 (top) and August 11. Photo: Vantor / AFP

Fishermen collect fish caught in a net on Ly Son, Vietnam’s closest island to the disputed Paracel archipelago in the South China Sea. Photo: AFP

Why Marcos’ Brics trip is ‘low-risk opportunity’ for Philippines to make new friends

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr (left) delivers a speech as US Trade and Development Agency Deputy Director Thomas Hardy looks on during the Luzon Economic Corridor Investment Forum in Taguig City on Thursday. Photo:  EPA

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (centre right) arrives for the Brics summit in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: Indian Foreign Ministry / AP

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres (left) is greeted upon his arrival to attend the Brics Summit in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: India’s Ministry of External Affairs / Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin disembarks from a plane upon arrival at Palam Air Force Station near Delhi on Friday to attend the Brics summit. Photo: EPA

Teodoro for president? Philippine defence chief draws 2028 election buzz after China clash

Philippine defence chief Gilberto Teodoro Jnr responds to a note during the Seoul Defence Dialogue 2026 on September 8. Photo: X/Philippine Department of National Defence

Philippine defence chief Teodoro (right) and his South Korean counterpart Ahn Gyu-back attend an honour guard ceremony in Seoul on September 7. Photo: South Korean defence ministry/AFP

Teodoro speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 31. Photo: AFP

This Week in Asia

Politics

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

As a nation with a small military, Brunei would rather work with Beijing in safe zones such as peacekeeping than butt heads, analysts say


As a nation with a small military, Brunei would rather work with Beijing in safe zones such as peacekeeping than butt heads, analysts say.


Why Brunei prefers ‘quiet diplomacy’ over confrontation in South China Sea

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As a nation with a small military, Brunei would rather work with Beijing in safe zones such as peacekeeping than butt heads, analysts say

As a nation with a small military, Brunei would rather work with Beijing in safe zones such as peacekeeping than butt heads, analysts say