Hisham: We have our own stand on Aukus

Reports by MARTIN CARVALHO, RAHIMY RAHIM and TARRENCE TAN

AS a sovereign nation, Malaysia has its own position regarding the security pact known as Aukus between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, says Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

The Defence Minister said defence cooperation within Asean was equally important, especially with the latest development related to Aukus.

“This does not mean that we cannot approach the superpowers that are involved.

“We are not saying that we are strong or anything, but we have our own position as a sovereign nation.

“At the same time, within the 10 Asean countries, we will also state our stand,” he said in his ministry’s winding-up speech for the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).

The minister was replying to a question from Mohamad Sabu (PH-Kota Raja) on the issue of geopolitics, which touches on Malaysia’s relationship with regional superpowers and its position in the South China Sea as outlined in the 12MP.

Recently, Malaysia had expressed concerns that Aukus could spark a nuclear arms race in the Indo-Pacific region and provoke aggressive action by other powers in the South China Sea.

Aukus is a trilateral security agreement announced on Sept 15 for the Indo-Pacific region.

Under the pact, the US and the UK will help Australia acquire nuclear- powered submarines.

On whether there would be an audit by the Parliamentary Select Committee or in the Dewan Rakyat over defence equipment that had yet to arrive, Hishammuddin gave assurance that the government would file claims for the losses from incomplete sales or late delivery of ordered items.

Hishammuddin also admitted that there were some delays in the procurement of assets, but promised that it would be addressed by the ministry.

“On defence assets, it will take some time. If there is a delay, there are procedures for us to make sure that it will be delivered so that it will not affect any of our plannings,” he added.

On the replacement of worn-out military assets, Hishammuddin said they would look into collaborating with local industry players to develop Malaysia’s own defence assets, besides the usual foreign corporations.