It is an MOU and unrelated to reciprocal trade agreement, says Khaled
KUALA LUMPUR: The Defence Cooperation pact between Malaysia and the United States is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and not legally binding, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin (pic).
The Defence Minister said the pact was unrelated to the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART).
“It is non-binding in nature and negotiations for the MOU began as early as 2020.
“The signing of the MOU was unrelated to the ART, which was concluded on Oct 26 during the Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur,” he said in a statement yesterday.
The MOU was signed between the ministry and the United States Department of Defence on the sidelines of the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and ADMM-Plus on Oct 30.
His statement was made following former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s criticism on the defence pact.
Mohamed Khaled said the MOU focuses on bilateral cooperation activities between Malaysia and the United States, including capability and capacity development, military training and exercises, defence science, technology and industry, as well as other mutually agreed areas.
“These areas of cooperation are discussed through the Malaysia-US Strategic Talks (MUSST), which have been ongoing since 2008.”
He said the signing of defence cooperation MOUs with partner countries is part of defence diplomacy, as outlined under the Third Pillar of the Defence White Paper launched in 2019, when Dr Mahathir was serving as Malaysia’s seventh Prime Minister.
“Besides the United States, Malaysia has signed similar defence cooperation MOUs with several other countries, including China (2016), Japan (2018), Laos (2019), Indonesia (2022), Vietnam (2023) and the United Arab Emirates on Dec 11.
“These pacts, including the one with the United States, are consistent with Malaysia’s neutral and non-aligned foreign policy, and support the country’s commitment to the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality declaration signed by Asean member states in 1971,” he said.
Mohamed Khaled also expressed his appreciation for Dr Mahathir’s concern on the matter, reiterating that the signing of the MOU was carried out in the national interest.
