JOHOR BAHRU: When the government reached out to China on the formation of Aukus, the trilateral security pact made up of the US, the UK and Australia, it had merely wanted to get the country’s stand on the issue, said senior minister for defence Hishammuddin Hussein.
Rejecting opposition allegations that Malaysia was “receiving instructions” from China, Hishammuddin said it was not wrong for Malaysia to want to know China’s views and its possible response over the matter.
“The opposition’s claim is baseless because what I informed the Dewan Rakyat was far from receiving instructions from China,” he told reporters at the Ulu Tiram Camp here today.
Hishammuddin was asked to comment on a recent statement from the opposition that Malaysia should remain neutral and not lean towards any world superpower, especially over the Aukus issue.
The Sembrong MP said having good ties with China did not mean that Malaysia would compromise its sovereignty and stance.
“Malaysia’s strength is that we are close to these two superpowers (US and China) and our relationship is based on mutual respect between the US and China, and they respect our stand,” he said.