His remarks came moments after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Asian allies to ramp up military spending to a 3.5% of gross domestic product target in part to counter China’s “historic military buildup”.
(May 30): Malaysia will not rush to increase its defence budget despite US pressure for partners to become more self-reliant, as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to balance military modernisation with other critical sectors, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said.
“It doesn’t mean that we will implement it immediately because America says so,” Mohamed Khaled said in an interview on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday. “Our budget needs to be allocated to various sectors because we are not a developed nation.”
