US and Malaysia extend defence pact by 10 years

Accord allows for logistical support and supplies to their armed forces

:: As published in The Straits Times 10 May 2005 ::
KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA and the United States yesterday extended a defence agreement by 10 years, allowing both nations to provide logistical support, supplies and services to each other's armed forces, officials said.

The signing of the agreement was witnessed by US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, who arrived here late on Sunday after a trip to Indonesia as part of his South-east Asian tour.

He is the highest-ranking US government official to visit Malaysia since 2002.

The Access and Cross-Servicing Agreement is expected to benefit mostly the US military, which has a large presence in the region and often needs local support to function properly.

Malaysian officials said the 10-year agreement expired in 2004, and yesterday's signing renewed it until 2015.

A US Embassy statement said the agreement allows for refuelling of US military planes and also support coordination of bilateral and multilateral emergency relief operations.

This was demonstrated by the 'outstanding cooperation between US, Malaysian and other armed forces' in response to the Dec 26 earthquake and tsunami disaster when they worked together to deliver assistance, the statement said.

'Such an operation requires huge amount of logistical support, including fuel, food services, maintenance and repair and many other services,' it said.

Under the agreement, either nation may request support from the other, which will be provided on a voluntary basis with each party making 'its best efforts, consistent with national policies and priorities'.

The agreement was signed by Mr Subhan bin Jasmon, secretary-general of Malaysia's Ministry of Defence, and US Ambassador Christopher LaFleur.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also the defence minister, witnessed the signing.

Mr Subhan said the agreement 'binds both nations in providing all the logistical support whenever we need for purposes such as joint exercises, training and relief operations'.

As it renewed the pact, the US also offered to help ensure security in the pirate-plagued Malacca Strait, Datuk Seri Najib said.

But there was no proposal for joint patrols, he added.

'Zoellick was very pleased with the level of cooperation given by Malaysia in the field of tackling terrorism, especially in our Counter-terrorism Centre, our domestic efforts to eliminate terrorism and our role in the region to reduce terrorism and conflicts.' -- ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE