- Malaysia and Indonesia kamcing in regard to Ambalat
- AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines to buy dozens of Airbus aeroplanes
IN Malaysia
Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to a truce with Ambalat
Dear Thailand and Cambodia, please stop fighting and observe how Malaysia and Thailand did a masterclass in diplomacy as both countries agreed to jointly develop the resource-rich Ambalat sea block, an area that both countries have contested for decades. The agreement was announced during PM Anwar Ibrahim’s short visit to Indonesia last week. According to Aristyo Darmawan, an expert on international law at the University of Indonesia, the joint development plan over Ambalat abides by Article 83 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), which says ‘states may enter into provisional arrangements to manage the area’ while they seek final delimitation in the disputed area. The Ambalat sea block, spanning 15,000 sq km off the coast of Sabah, is believed to have a production potential of between 30,000 – 40,000 barrels per day and to have oil reserves of between 100 mil and 1 bil barrels of oil with the potential to be exploited for 30 years. Even the now loud critic of the Madani Government, former Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, also supports the joint development proposal, citing that this is great news for Petronas, which is financially struggling after the whole Petros fiasco (this is quite unique because normally Petronas is the one to bail out others, now the table has turned and Petronas is the one that needed a lifeline). However, the opposition to the proposal, former PM Muhyiddin Yassin argued that the joint development plan would negatively affect the country’s sovereignty claim over Ambalat.
https://m.malaysiakini.com/news/747862
Airbus bonanza
In conjunction with PM Anwar Ibrahim’s soon-to-be official visit to France, AirAsia is expected to announce the purchase of dozens more French-based Airbus SE’s single-aisle aircraft. The Southeast Asian low-cost carrier is working on an expanded aircraft purchase with the European planemaker, which supplies all of its aircraft. AirAsia has 240 mostly single-aisle aircraft in its fleet, and a backlog of more than 350 orders for the top-selling A320 family of jets.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/761236
Not only AirAsia, another Malaysian-based airline, Malaysia Airlines, is also set to ink the deal to acquire more Airbus A330neo long-haul jets. In 2022, Malaysia Airlines placed an order for 20 A330neos and secured options for another 20. The airliner is considering exercising options for the 20 additional A330neos, as announced last month. Boeing, you okay? The moment you start to make aeroplanes where their doors stay intact throughout the whole flight, then baru boleh fight with Airbus.
In related news, not only are the airliners buying up European products, but Malaysia has also agreed to finalise a government-to-government (G2G) defence procurement agreement with Italy, which will pave the way for more military procurements. Recently, Malaysia has acquired two ATR-72 maritime patrol aircraft, built by Italian defence firm Leonardo, for the use of the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
Around the SEA
Trump says cak cak boom as the tariff is coming soon
As the July 9 deadline for the rollout of US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs is coming soon, Asian investors are evidently scared. Countries around the world are scrambling to secure a deal before the deadline. Let’s see some of the secured / work-in-progress deals with Papa Trump –
- Indonesia – Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that a pact worth USD34 bil will be signed with business partners to boost purchases from the US, in the country’s bid to curry favourable terms in its trade deal with Washington. The deal would include increasing imports of fuel and investment by Indonesian companies in the energy and agriculture sectors in the US. Separately, flag carrier Garuda Indonesia also said it is in talks to buy up to 75 jets from Boeing. If a trade deal cannot be secured on time, Indonesia is one of the countries that will potentially be hit hard by Trump’s tariff, up to a whopping 32% as Indonesia enjoyed a goods trade surplus of USD17.9 bil with the United States in 2024.
- Vietnam – Vietnam is obviously the kiasu in the bunch and got the job done early, as the country has secured a trade deal with the US, the first Asian country to do so. Instead of the initially announced 46% tariff imposed on all imports from Vietnam, the figure will come down to as low as 20%. However, goods that transited via Vietnam before being shipped to the US will still need to pay a 40% tariff. Yuanta Securities Vietnam said the 40% tariff on transshipments raises questions about the definition and regulations for such goods, adding that it was one of the measures aiming to reduce the heavy reliance on Chinese products. Aish, US ni, marah China sebenarnya but satu dunia kene.
For your EYES only
Israel b*bi
CCTV footage has now been released showing a series of airstrikes carried out by the Israeli Air Force against a government building in the Iranian capital of Tehran during the closing days of Operation “Rising Lion”, which are now under investigation by the Israel Defense… pic.twitter.com/upm9RRoQMQ
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 3, 2025
