Defence Ministers Of Malaysia, Indonesia Discuss Security, Regional Preparedness

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar

JAKARTA, April 30 (Bernama) -- The meeting between Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin and his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto today discussed various issues, including security challenges and promoting stability in the Southeast Asian region.

Both ministers are committed to continue supporting ASEAN as a peaceful, free and neutral zone thus contributing to the well-being of the region amidst the current challenges.

"We discussed and agreed that the matter of ensuring ASEAN Centrality can continue to be used as a guide to steer the future of the region," Mohamed Khaled told reporters after a courtesy call on Prabowo, who is also the President-Elect of Indonesia, at the Ministry of Defence here.

In the meeting, Mohamed Khaled emphasised the importance of Indonesia as a developed and prosperous country capable of bringing a balance between ASEAN and other nations to face challenges in the region.

The two ministers also discussed initiatives to improve military ties based on the agreement signed in 2022, including intelligence and science and technology in the defence sector.

He said officials in the ministries of the two countries will hold follow-up discussions on cooperation in several related focus areas given that "war and challenges in the defence sector and industry depend on science and technology".

"We also agreed to pay particular attention to dealing with the challenges of cyber security and also terrorism, the implementation of this year's General Board Committee Meeting in Kuala Lumpur in November or December," he said.

The discussion, which lasted for two hours, also touched on the issue of Myanmar, the South China Sea and the unrest in the Middle East.

The two leaders met for the second time after the first meeting in Kuala Lumpur on April 4.

Mohamed Khaled's arrival began with the playing of the national anthems of both countries before inspecting the Guard of Honour accompanied by Indonesian Deputy Defence Minister Lieutenant-General Muhammad Herindra.

His delegation included Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia, Syed Md Hasrin Tengku Hussin; Defence Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Isham Ishak; Defence Attache Brigadier-General Azrin Iskandar Zulkaply, and Malaysian Defence Intelligence Organisation Director-General Lieutenant-General Datuk Mohd Razali Alias.

-- BERNAMA