KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Australia have agreed to deepen their defence ties, moving beyond cooperation towards closer and more strategic collaboration amid increasingly complex security challenges.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the agreement was reached during the sixth Malaysia-Australia High-Level Committee (HLC), which he co-chaired with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles in Geelong.
The meeting was held during his working visit to Australia from Sept 16 to 18.
Mohamed Khaled said the two countries would translate their longstanding trust and confidence into more practical measures that would strengthen their respective capabilities.
"Among the areas agreed upon is increasing collaboration from conducting exercises to more integrated planning, thereby enhancing readiness to operate together," he said in a statement on Saturday (Sept 19).
Mohamed Khaled said the move was important to strengthen interoperability, operational readiness and capability development between the two armed forces.
He added that Operation Gateway would also be strengthened through greater information sharing and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, increased involvement of armed forces personnel in operational activities and enhanced technological readiness.
"The Malaysia-Australia Joint Defence Programme (MAJDP) will also be further strengthened, particularly in defence industry and technology, capability development, innovation, maintenance, repair and overhaul, as well as defence supply chain resilience.
"Cyber cooperation between the two countries will also be enhanced, including by integrating cyber elements into bilateral exercises and activating a dedicated Cyber Working Group," he said.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Khaled said the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) would play an important role in translating the agreements into clear follow-up actions and ensuring the effective implementation of the initiatives.
He said the collaboration would also be expanded into strategic and emerging technology areas, including artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous and unmanned systems, maritime surveillance, space technology and defence innovation.
On the final day of the visit, Malaysia and Australia also signed the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangements (MLSA), which Mohamed Khaled described as another significant achievement in bilateral defence relations.
"The agreement enables both countries to provide logistical support to each other more effectively, contributing to enhanced operational readiness.
"The outcome of this HLC reflects a new phase in Malaysia-Australia defence relations, from cooperation to closer collaboration based on the trust and togetherness built over the years," he said.
Mohamed Khaled also said Malaysia remained committed to strengthening the relationship so that it remained relevant, resilient and capable of addressing future security challenges.
