Today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III held his first in-person meeting with Malaysian Minister of Defense Mohamad Hasan to discuss opportunities to expand and strengthen the U.S.-Malaysia defense relationship and cooperation to address regional security issues.
Secretary Austin and Minister Mohamad reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the long-standing bilateral defense relationship. They also discussed areas for expanded defense cooperation, to include continuing maritime patrol aircraft subject matter expert exchanges and expanding the scope and scale of exercises to improve interoperability.
Secretary Austin and Minister Mohamad shared views on the security environment in the Indo-Pacific, to include the South China Sea, and stressed the importance of maintaining international rules and norms to ensure a secure, stable, and prosperous region. They also discussed the importance of enhancing regional maritime domain awareness capabilities to address coercive activities in the region.
Secretary Austin and Minister Mohamad concluded the meeting by pledging to continue discussions on bilateral defense priorities and looking forward to meeting again at the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus later this year.