The Malaysian Prime Minister's Office has warned that the new AUKUS pact, which envisages Australia building eight nuclear-propelled submarines, may trigger a nuclear arms race in the Indo-Pacific region.
“It will provoke other powers to also act more aggressively in the region, especially in the South China Sea”, the statement pointed out, urging all the sides to avoid any provocation and arms competition in the Indo-Pacific.
The statement did not mention China, but Beijing lays claims to large swaths of the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands, with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei, as well as Taiwan, having overlapping claims.
The US has no claims to the South China Sea territories, but it often sends its warships to the area to carry out "freedom of navigation" missions. This draws harsh criticism from Beijing, which describes such acts as "provocations" that pose a threat to regional security.
The Malaysian Prime Minister's Office added that as a country within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Malaysia “holds the principle of maintaining ASEAN as a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOFPAN)”.
The statement comes after the Philippine Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Manila recognises Canberra’s right to acquire a nuclear submarine fleet and that the Philippines intends to build up its own defence capabilities in the region “to protect its territories”.
The US, Australia, and the UK stressed on Wednesday that the new trilateral AUKUS defence partnership is not directed against anyone, but the initiative is widely seen as a response to China's growing clout in the Indo-Pacific.
Beijing was quick to express concern over the new pact, saying that it “seriously undermines regional peace and stability, intensifies the arms race, and harms international non-proliferation efforts". China also accused the AUKUS signatories of having a "Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice".