Tok Mat to Khairy: Bilateral talks trump public speeches

KUALA LUMPUR: Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan today defended his decision not to deliver a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last week.

He said bilateral discussions between defence ministers were more valuable than speaking at a plenary session attended by the general public.

"This is because when we deliver a speech at the dialogue, not many leaders will attend the session.

"Most of the attendees are students and other individuals. Therefore I focused on bilateral discussions," he told reporters at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.

He was responding to former Umno member Khairy Jamaluddin's remarks on the matter.

Khairy, in his podcast 'Keluar Sekejap', argued that it was a missed opportunity to express Malaysia's stand on Indo-Pacific issues.

Mohamad said he had bilateral discussions with representatives from 13 countries, including with China's defence minister and the American secretary of defence. He also met with representatives from European countries interested in Malaysia's position on Indo-Pacific issues.

"Some defence matters concerning the country cannot be discussed in a public forum. It is better to have bilateral discussions between the countries' representatives.

"(And) this face-to-face conversation allows us to express our opinions transparently," Mohamad said.

Mohamad had attended the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue from June 2 to 4.

He had bilateral and multilateral talks with officials from Singapore, China, the Philippines and Portugal.

He also participated in a meeting with defence ministers from member countries of the Five Power Defence Arrangements.

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