KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — Maritime relations between Malaysia and the United States will be further strengthened with more visits by US naval ships to the country in future, said Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar.
“Malaysia and US have enjoyed cordial defence relations which will be strengthened further in future.
“Since 2008 to the end of last year, 132 US naval ships have called at Malaysian ports such as Pulau Indah and Kota Kinabalu,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters after receiving a courtesy call from US Navy chief Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert at his office here today.
Greenert, who is making his first visit here after taking over as US Navy chief, will be in Malaysia for three days, until tomorrow.
He is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak and visit RMN’s submarine base in Kota Kinabalu.
At the meeting, Abdul Aziz and Greenert also discussed various issues including potential submarine operations cooperation, maritime security issues and a report of an alleged shooting incident by the Chinese navy while patrolling the South China Sea recently.
Meanwhile, Greenert said his country appreciated what Malaysia had done over the years in ensuring maritime security in Southeast Asia. — Bernama
