KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Australia have agreed to deepen defence ties, moving beyond cooperation towards closer and more strategic collaboration amid increasingly complex security challenges.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin (pic) said the agreement was reached during the sixth Malaysia-Australia High-Level Committee, which he co-chaired with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles in Geelong during his working visit to Australia from Sept 16 to 18.
He said the two countries would translate their longstanding trust and confidence into practical measures to strengthen their respective defence 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.
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 capabilities, increased involvement of Malaysian Armed Forces personnel in operational activities and enhanced technological readiness.
“The Malaysia-Australia Joint Defence Programme would 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 would also be enhanced, including by integrating cyber elements into bilateral exercises and activating a dedicated Cyber Working Group,” he added.
Mohamed Khaled said the Strategic Planning Committee would play an important role in translating the agreements into clear follow-up actions and ensuring their effective implementation.
He said collaboration would also be expanded into strategic and emerging technology areas, including artificial intelligence, 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 Arrangement, which he described as another significant milestone in bilateral defence relations.
The agreement would enable both countries to provide logistical support to each other more effectively, contributing to enhanced operational readiness.
Meanwhile, at the launch of the Cyber Force Nucleus Team in conjunction with the 93rd Armed Forces Day in Lumut, Perak yesterday, Mohamed Khaled said the ministry was in the final stage of shortlisting a surface-to-surface missile system from three countries to replace the system for the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).
Without disclosing the specific countries, he said several issues needed to be finalised before a government decision could be made.
Commenting on the possibility of Malaysia acquiring the BrahMos air-to-surface missile system from India, he said the matter would be referred to the Royal Malaysian Air Force for study.
