MALAYSIA MAINTAINS NEUTRALITY DESPITE MILITARY EXERCISES WITH US, AUSTRALIA - ADLY

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (Bernama) -- Malaysia maintains its stance as a neutral country in international defence relations despite conducting military exercises with the United States (US) and Australia through Exercise Keris Strike 25 (KrS25) and Warrior 2025.

Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari described the principle of neutrality as the cornerstone of the country’s defence policy, with Malaysia also conducting military exercises with China and its ASEAN partners to strengthen operational capability and regional ties.

“… we also have training cooperation with China, as well as in the ASEAN context. That’s why we use and leverage these exercises as part of our bilateral and multilateral exercises, and our principle of neutrality will remain,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was replying to a supplementary question from Capt (Rtd) Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (Tanjung Karang), who asked to what extent trilateral exercises such as KrS25 and Warrior 2025 are truly in line with Malaysia’s neutral and independent policy in the Indo-Pacific region.

In reply to Zulkafperi’s original question on whether the KrS25 and Warrior 2025 exercises could enhance the country’s defence, Adly said the implementation of these joint exercises proved Malaysia’s commitment to strengthening security and defence readiness with strategic partners.

“The implementation of Exercise KrS25, which was participated by Australia and the US, as well as the joint organisation of Warrior 2025, proved Malaysia’s commitment to strengthening aspects of security and defence readiness with strategic partners, including improving interoperability, operational capabilities and combat preparedness,” he said.

He added that these multilateral exercises also provided space for the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) to strengthen interoperability with foreign military forces through mastery of international tactics, techniques and standard procedures, as well as strengthening regional and global defence relations.

“The MAF leverages these exercises to improve personnel skills through knowledge and expertise building, as well as exposure to technology, equipment and military doctrines.

“Such experiences form the foundation for strengthening the transformation of the country’s defence to remain relevant to contemporary threats,” he said.

Adly said Malaysia will continue to expand participation in multilateral and bilateral exercises, increase strategic information sharing and strengthen defence relations with friendly countries through memoranda of understanding, regional security forums and strategic programmes.

-- BERNAMA