Missing jet will strengthen China and Malaysia ties, expert says

The case of missing flight MH370 will strengthen relations between China and Malaysia, said K. S. Balakrishnan, an international affairs expert at a Malaysian government think tank and senior lecturer at the University of Malaysia.

"The incident is a test for the relations between the two countries, but we will overcome it and achieve deeper and wider cooperation on security issues and anti-terrorism," he said.

Balakrishnan admitted the incident has been the biggest challenge for Malaysia since the beginning of the 21st century, and he suggested that the Malaysian government should fully cooperate with countries involved in the search and improve the transparency of the information.

Concerning the repeated calls from the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia for more accurate information, Balakrishnan said China expressed frustration because of the lack of progress in the search, but this does not mean there are frictions between the two countries.

However, he added that some areas, including tourism, will be affected by the incident, but only in the short term.