Asean Countries Free To Increase Defence Assets Without Raising Fear Of Members

BAGAN DATOH (Perak, Malaysia), March 20 (Bernama) -- Asean countries are free to exercise their own defence policies, including boosting military assets to strengthen their defence, without making other members feel threatened. Malaysian Defence Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Malaysia had close relations with the other members of Asean and would not worry if any member bought military assets. He said buying a defensive asset was a normal matter, including for Indonesia which had many islands to protect. "In this context, Indonesia is our closest friend, buying of military assets is not a sensitive matter for this country," he told reporters after handing the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) to 1,000 recipients at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Rungkup, here, Monday. He said this when commenting on a report that Indonesia wanted to increase its allocation to buy submarines, tanks and multi-purpose fighter jets. Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bagan Datoh, said it was appropriate for Indonesia to addd to its military asset because the country had many islands and a large population. On another matter, Ahmad Zahid said about 400 defence and security companies would take part in the 13th Asian Defence and Security Exhibition (DSA) to be held at the Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur on April 16-19. -- BERNAMA