U.S. Defence Secretary Calls For Close Military Cooperation With Malaysia

By Manik Mehta WASHINGTON, June 8 (Bernama) -- As the finer details of the just-concluded tour of a number of Asian countries by United States Defence Secretary Leon Panetta are emerging, an interesting fact that has come to light is the "unusually strong interest" Panetta showed in regard to forging closer military cooperation between the United States (U.S.) and Malaysia. Panetta, who held a series of bilateral and trilateral meetings with Asian allies at the so-called Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, rounded up all his meetings with a one-on-one meeting with Malaysian Defence Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. The Pentagon press secretary George Little confirmed in a statement that the two leaders agreed to strengthen the bilateral military-to-military relationship. "During the meeting, both leaders stated that with a renewed focus on Asia as part of the U.S. defence strategy, they look forward to strengthening the U.S.-Malaysia military–to-military relationship, including expansion of multilateral exercises," Little said. Panetta, according to Little, specifically thanked Ahmad Zahid for making Malaysian armed forces medical personnel available for deployment in Afghanistan. Military experts expect the U.S. administration to follow up with Malaysia on greater defence cooperation after Panetta's initial talks with Ahmad Zahid. Panetta, who also later visited Vietnam and India, used his Singapore visit to gather "first-hand information" in his bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Malaysia and host country Singapore, also reinforced the U.S. presence in Asia. The U.S. administration, as defence experts here say, will strengthen its engagement in the Southeast Asian region which, many countries fear, can come under China's domination, even though Washington has officially stated that this move was not aimed against any country in particular. But it should be obvious that the Asian participating countries at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore have all expressed concern over China's growing aggressive posturing particularly in regard to the region’s mineral-rich islands in the South China Sea which, in addition to China, are also claimed by a number of countries. The bilateral and trilateral meetings with his counterparts from several Asian countries were held after his morning speech on the opening day. In these meetings, the defence secretary outlined the specifics of the U.S. military shift toward the Asia-Pacific region. Officials at the Pentagon described Panetta's talks with the Asian counterparts as "good meetings". Indeed, one senior defence official said that the feedback received after Panetta’s meetings with Asian defence ministers suggested that the Asians were convinced that this move was not just hollow American talk but a factual development aimed at sustaining the balance-of-power in the region. The annual Shangri-La Dialogue has become something of an annual ritual for any U.S. defence secretary since it was inaugurated in 2002. Panetta is the third U.S. defence secretary to participate in the dialogue. Panetta's delegation included army general Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and navy admiral Samuel Locklear III, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. William Burns, the deputy secretary of state, and a bipartisan congressional delegation were also present in Singapore. The South China Sea region, which is inherent with conflict potential, is receiving unusually high attention from the U.S. administration. But the Asian allies are also equally interested in a strong U.S. presence in the region. -- BERNAMA