KL-Manila plan sea defence pact in Sulu Sea

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia and the Philippines have held discussions on coordinating sea patrols in the Sulu Sea.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and his Philippine counterpart Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin had discussed the possibility of such a cooperation during the former’s final stop of his Asean tour.

Hishamuddin and Gazmin also expressed serious concern over the violent and terrorist acts by the self declared Islamic State (IS) and other extremist organisations in Iraq and Syria.

Hishammuddin had said on Monday that the ministry needed to be “creative” by sharing equipment as well as information with neighbouring countries to help maintain security in the region, especially in the Sulu Sea and the Straits of Malacca.

“We can not only share information, but also our assets to secure our own region. That’s the best way to do it and it’s a win-win situation for us. This is the message that I have passed on to my Asean colleagues and they are agreeable to it,” he added.

He also proposed that Asean members purchase new assets as a group.

“A single entity also makes better economic sense as companies may give all of us in Asean better deals. Asean is one of the most populated regions in the world, with 600 million people,” he said.

Hishammuddin and Gazmin exchanged views on regional and global security challenges and expressed their commitment to strengthen defence cooperation between the Philippines and Malaysia.

“We discussed our intention to promote defence industry cooperation by encouraging industrial cooperation and facilitating the development of technology, commercial and economic links between defence related companies from Malaysia and the Philippines,” he said.

On his courtesy call to President Benigno Aquino, Hishammuddin said the president expressed his desire for a positive outcome to the ongoing peace process in Mindanao.