PUTRAJAYA believes diplomacy and dialogue are the ways to resolve conflicts, instead of taking up arms, said Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu.

He said it will be foolish to go to war by wrongly believing that the Malaysian armed forces are strong.

“If we show off as being a force to be reckoned with when we actually aren’t, we will be made a fool,” he told Dewan Rakyat today.

“We have to see our capabilities first. And if we could choose peace…then why choose war?”

He said this in defence of his remarks at the recent 18th Asia Security Summit’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore where opposition lawmakers today criticised him for allegedly belittling the armed forces.

Mohamad responded by asking the lawmakers if Malaysia was ready to wage war with bigger forces.

He also told Shahidan Kassim (Arau-BN) that he was not belittling the strength of the armed forces.

The ministry, he said, is tabling a white paper that outlines the measures to be taken to further strengthen the armed forces in the next 10 years.

Mohamad said the armed forces were ready to face external threat. 

On further questions from Shahidan on the position of China’s coastguard ships near Beting Patinggi Ali, a sandbank 80 nautical miles off Sarawak, Mohamad said there have been no threats from China given the healthy bilateral ties between the two countries. 

“We have the navy stationed at Pulau Terumbu Layang-Layang. While the Chinese coastguard ships have passed by, there have been no threats or disturbance from them.”

As for Beting Patinggi Ali, he said the feature is patrolled 24 hours a day. 

Mohamad said the government intends to maintain Malaysia’s neutrality and not give in to rhethoric by foreign powers that could turn the South China Sea into a conflict zone, such as in the Persian Gulf.

“Dialogue and diplomacy are our priority… We want to avoid unnecessary conflict.” – July 3, 2019.