Research On Water Diplomacy Issues Between Singapore And Malaysia

With the rapid development of the world economy and the increase of population,the available water resources of human beings are being rapidly consumed.Water resources are increasingly scarce.The contradictions and conflicts caused by water resources are increasing.Dissolving water disputes is a difficult problem for countries and the international community.Under such circumstances,people are more aware of the importance of water diplomacy.The case of Singapore and Malaysia is representative in water diplomacy.Singapore and Malaysia are geographically adjacent to each other across the Johor Strait.Singapore is dependent on Malaysia for its water supply.However,there is no complete theoretical framework for the study of water diplomacy between Singapore and Malaysia.Most of the studies focus on water supply agreements and water dispute settlement,and focus on the technical and economic aspects.There is less analysis from the perspective of international relations and diplomacy.The researchers pay too much attention to Singapore,but not enough attention to Malaysia.By summarizing the development trend of water diplomacy research,the definition of "water diplomacy" is given.This paper points out that the core of water diplomacy is"water power",It clarifies the main body of water diplomacy,the implementation object of water diplomacy,the implementation field of water diplomacy and the means of implementation of water diplomacy.It also describes the role of water diplomacy.Then,the course of water supply cooperation and disputes between Singapore and Malaysia is elaborated from three aspects:water resources issues between Singapore and Malaysia,water supply disputes between Singapore and Malaysia and the impact of water supply issues on the relationship between Singapore and Malaysia.The water diplomacy strategy in the bilateral relationship between Singapore and Malaysia is elaborated from Singapore's water strategy and Malaysia's water supply strategy to Singapore.By comparing and analyzing the similarities and differences between Singapore and Malaysia in water diplomacy with the theory of international politics,it is found that although the status and values of water power are different between Singapore and Malaysia,they both adhere to the pragmatism principle of water diplomacy and strictly abide by the water supply agreement.This paper holds that Singapore and Malaysia respectively embody the absolute benefits of neoliberalism and the relative benefits of neorealism in their water diplomacy.With the improvement of Malaysia's economic development and the gradual realization of water self-sufficiency in Singapore,the degree of dependence on water between two sides has changed.In particular,the political nature of the water supply agreement will be weakened.And its economy will be enhanced.Then,through in-depth understanding of the negotiations on water diplomacy between Singapore and Malaysia,we can get some enlightenments,such as avoiding excessive interdependence between countries,influencing cooperation among countries with different degrees of development,taking international agreements seriously with a long-term perspective and promoting diplomatic negotiations based on principle and timeliness..