Kuala Lumpur-SANA
Malaysia today expressed its concern over the tripartite security alliance between the United States, Britain and Australia and said it could lead to a nuclear arms race in the Indo-Pacific.
This came in a statement issued by the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office reported by Bernama, in which he explained that the initiative may provoke a provocation to international powers to exercise their influence in an aggressive manner in this region, especially in the South China Sea.
The statement affirmed Malaysia's commitment "to the principle of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and for the region to remain a free and neutral peace zone."
The statement urged all parties to avoid any provocation and arms race in this region.
Australia will build eight nuclear-powered submarines as part of a transnational security partnership in the Indo-Pacific, a move that has angered China.