Penny Wong says time will ease Malaysia’s fears over AUKUS and nuclear submarines deal

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has downplayed Malaysia’s fears over nuclear submarines during a visit there, saying people simply need to wait.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has failed to ease Malaysia’s fears that the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal will set off an arms-race across the region during robust discussions with her ministerial counterpart in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian Foreign Affairs Minister Dato Sri Saifuddin bin Abdullah said he had a “candid discussion” with Senator Wong over Australia’s plans to acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact with the US and Britain.

“I thank the foreign minister (Wong) for explaining the current government’s position, and Malaysia’s position remains the same, and this I have mentioned to the Foreign Minister,” Mr Saifuddin told reporters on Tuesday.

When AUKUS was announced last September, Mr Saifuddin said nuclear power “was not something that will make Malaysians and I believe many ASEAN people comfortable”.

Senator Wong said she listened to concerns “respectfully” and that “with time people’s concerns will be allayed”.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong with her Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah upon her arrival at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Putrajaya. Picture: Handout / Malaysia Ministry of Foreign Affairs / AFP

“There are nuclear powers in this region, but Australia is not one of them,” she said.

“The propulsion system is powered by nuclear power, but we remain very clear that we do not seek, nor would we ever seek to be armed with any nuclear capability on our submarines.”

Despite China harassing Malaysian vessels in oilfields in the South China Sea, Kuala Lumpur maintains effort to keep friendly relations with Beijing.

Senator Wong and Mr Saifuddin held a 45-minute meeting in Kuala Lumpur, where they promised to supercharge the two countries’ trade agreements, worth about $20bn a year.

“The way forward is really more trade … I’m very confident that this is something that we can work on,” Mr Saifuddin said.

“Cyber security could be one area where we can enhance co-operation.”

Senator Wong promised Mr Saifuddin Australia would continue to be a reliable supplier of meat and wheat amid the food crisis gripping South East Asia and flagged a need for “greater momentum” in trade.

Senator Penny Wong during her official visit to Vietnam in June, 2022.

During their meeting, Senator Wong, who was born in Malaysia, drew on her personal history to deepen educational ties.

“I have a particular personal interest in educational ties, because my father in the 1960s was a Colombo Plan scholar to Adelaide, which is where he met my mother and that’s why I’m here,” she said.

Senator Wong’s father Francis studied architecture at the University of Adelaide under the Colombo Plan to boost personal development in South East Asia following World War II.

Senator Wong will speak at a breakfast in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday morning, before travelling to her hometown of Kota Kinabalu on Borneo Island.

There, she will meet with local government officials before reuniting with her family, including younger brother James Wong Kein Peng, who is organising an intimate family dinner.

It follows a brief trip to Vietnam on Monday, as Senator Wong continues her blitz to rebuild Australia’s standing in the Pacific and South East Asia.

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Originally published as Penny Wong says time will ease Malaysia’s fears over AUKUS and nuclear submarines deal