KUALA LUMPUR: Talks are ongoing to include Brunei and Thailand into trilateral cooperation agreements (TCA) to protect the Sulu Seas as well as Straits of Malacca, says Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
The Defence Minister said he was proud of the efforts to revive the TCA between Indonesia, the Phillipines and Malaysia to safeguard the Sulu Seas.
“If the Sultan of Brunei is pleased with our suggestion, we will look into changing the trilateral arrangement into a quartet.
“Following my discussions with my Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto and Delfin Lorenzana of the Phillippines, we feel it is time to include Brunei,” he told reporters after the closing ceremony of the Defence Services Asia (DSA) Exhibition & Conference 2022 and National Security (Natsec) Asia 2022 yesterday.
Hishammuddin said as for the discussions on the TCA involving Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, they would look into adding Thailand into the fray.
“From our discussions with Prabowo and Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, it is now up to us to convince Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha.
“This is so that we can have another quartet to secure the Straits of Malacca,” he said.
Hishammuddin said on the bilateral meeting with Indonesia, the two countries have agreed to convene the General Border Committee Malindo meeting this July to discuss the progress of joint border posts.
“Malaysia will also study the Bandung model in developing our own domestic defence industry.
“The bilateral meeting with Brunei saw both countries looking into exploring defence cooperation particularly in joint exercises on terrorism,” he said, adding that they would also explore the possibility of increasing the number of Royal Brunei Armed Forces personnel under Malaysia’s United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
Earlier in his closing speech, Hishammuddin said as one of the five best defence-related events recognised by the world, it has set a benchmark for Malaysia in organising large scale and international exhibitions in the future.
“This is the first large-scale exhibition held following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The four-day event went smoothly with the support of various parties, including the Home Ministry,” he said, adding that although the exhibition was not open to the public, it managed to reach a total of 33,147 visitors during the event.
The minister said he was confident of organising the Langkawi International Maritime and Air Exhibition next year, following the success of the DSA and Natsec.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Jonathan Yasin said the event was a major endeavour that involved determination, planning and coordination.
“The Home Ministry’s solemn duty is to protect and safeguard all matters related to national security in Malaysia, many of which involve crossborder issues that require bilateral cooperation.
“We have been actively involved in areas which include fighting modern day slavery, human trafficking and forced labour.
“We have also carried out reforms to improve our management of foreign workers,” he said, adding they were currently developing the National Integrated Immigration System and National Digital Identity that utilises technology in improving national and foreign registration.