Malaysia

  • Departments

    Enhancing Relationships

    FORUM Staff As commanding officer of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s (RMN) largest ship, Capt. Mahamad Nazir bin Darus has a deep understanding of the maritime challenges facing his nation and Southeast Asia, from territorial disputes to illegal fishing and piracy. A nearly 30-year veteran of the RMN, Nazir has commanded the guided-missile frigate KD Lekiu since mid-2023. The 106-meter-long vessel,…

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  • Features

    Persistent Presence

    As the Philippine Army, which is shifting focus from internal defense to territorial security, began modernizing a vital cog in Manila’s security strategy, its leaders joined forces with a United States Army Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB). The collaboration delivered enhanced skill sets to defend the nation in a new era, transforming a construction unit into the 501st Combat Engineer…

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  • Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP

    South China Sea states strengthen capacity to counter China’s overreach

    FORUM Staff More than 20% of the world’s maritime trade flows through the South China Sea. The sea’s rich fishing grounds help feed nearly 2 billion people in Southeast Asia and its unexplored depths are believed to contain vast stores of oil and natural gas. China illegally claims almost all of the crucial waterway, ignoring the United Nations Convention on…

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  • Partnerships

    FPDA defense chiefs reaffirm security ties amid emerging threats

    Sarah Chan Threats to underwater infrastructure and the expanding role of uncrewed systems in defense strategies took center stage at the 23rd Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) Defence Chiefs’ Conference in Singapore in late May 2025. Military leaders from the FPDA’s member states — Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom — reaffirmed their collective commitment to regional…

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  • Partnerships

    Indonesia, Malaysia expand defense partnership to counter transnational threats

    Gusty Da Costa Facing shared threats from terrorism, piracy and cross-border crime, Indonesia and Malaysia reaffirmed their defense partnership during a high-level military meeting in April 2025 as they seek to deepen operational coordination and bolster regional stability. The engagement between top commanders comes ahead of the 18th High Level Committee (HLC) Malindo, where the nations are expected to advance…

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  • Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP

    U.K.-led Operation Highmast departs for Indo-Pacific deployment with Allies and Partners

    FORUM Staff The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales departed Portsmouth Naval Base in late April 2025 to lead a multilateral deployment to the Indo-Pacific. The eight-month deployment of the U.K.’s Carrier Strike Group 2025, called Operation Highmast, will be joined by vessels and/or personnel from 13 nations, including Australia, France, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand,…

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  • Across The Region

    Malaysia won’t halt South China Sea exploration despite CCP protests, leader says

    Malaysia will not stop its oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea despite Beijing’s unfounded claims that the Southeast Asian nation was infringing on its territory. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the explorations are within the nation’s territory and not intended to be provocative or hostile. “Of course, we will have to operate in our waters and…

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  • Illicit Activity

    Regional security forces boost anti-piracy measures amid resurgence of attacks

    Sarah Chan Regional security forces are responding rapidly to a surge in piracy attacks and armed robberies at sea around the Malacca and Singapore straits, including with collaborative patrols, increased monitoring and deployment of advanced technology. In the fourth quarter of 2024, 27 incidents were reported in the area, up from seven incidents during the same period in 2023. Meanwhile,…

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  • Partnerships

    Expanded multinational space domain component key part of Cobra Gold 2025

    Tech. Sgt. Emerson Nunez/U.S. Air Force Exercise Cobra Gold, long a cornerstone of Thailand-United States military engagement in the Indo-Pacific, expanded into the space domain in 2025 with a multinational initiative to enhance interoperability and strengthen regional partnerships. “The goal is to establish a joint, combined, multinational component command specifically for space,” said Maj. Garry Stratiev, space operations planner for…

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  • Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP

    China’s patrols, aggression fail to intimidate South China Sea claimant nations

    FORUM Staff South China Sea nations have not succumbed to Beijing’s increasingly persistent efforts to undermine their lawful maritime territorial claims. Despite the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) threats and aggressive moves, fishing, security patrols and offshore exploration continued in 2024. That’s the conclusion of an analysis of Global Positioning System-based ship-tracking information that detects vessel movements globally. The Center for…

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