Significance
Malaysia scrambled fighter jets to intercept them and issued a rare public complaint against China.
Impacts
The Chinese air force will enter the area again in the future, for both training and patrols.
The Malaysian military will respond in the air and publicly to these incursions.
The likelihood of mid-air incidents will increase as Malaysia’s air force scrambles aircraft to monitor Chinese activities.
Malaysia will defy Beijing but not adopt an openly confrontational position publicly, hoping to avoid economic punishment by China.
Malaysia will be cautious in any security cooperation with Western partners, to avoid making an enemy of China.
