China’s Defence Minister Visits M’sia to Discuss Mutual Cooperation with PM Muhyiddin

By Karissa Lund  •  09 Sep 2020 in News

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According to SCMP, China’s State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe met with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday at Kuala Lumpur.

The planned visit was to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two countries, as Beijing seeks to balance US influence in the Asia-Pacific amid rising tensions in the South China Sea. Muhyiddin said Malaysia is willing “to meet each other halfway” to keep the peace in the disputed waterway.

This means strengthing Malaysia’s ties with China in all fields, including defence, trade and education.

Muhyiddin mentioned that maintaining the stability of the South China Sea was the joint responsibility of both nations, adding that China is willing to work with other countries in Southeast Asia to keep the peace in the region.

Wei, who also met with Malaysian Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, said China was committed to strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries and to constantly advancing military-to-military ties.

After visiting Malaysia, the Chinese Minister stopped by Indonesia and Brunei, and is now heading to the Philippines. These visits come just ahead of a series of virtual ASEAN meetings running from Wednesday through Saturday, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expected to attend.

Besides that, our PM also congratulated China on its success in managing the COVID-19 outbreak, adding that Malaysia became one of the first countries to successfully contain the virus thanks to their support.

Wei said both nations had assisted one another amid the COVID-19 pandemic while pushing for economic and social recovery by strengthening their cooperation.