Malaysia to discuss South China Sea military buildup with Australia, Vietnam

AUSTRALIA will discuss Beijing’s military build-up in the South China Sea with Malaysia next week as India steps back from joining ‘freedom of navigation’ patrols in the troubled waterway.

FILE -In this file photo taken Saturday, May 24, 2014, China's Harbin (112) guided missile destroyer takes part in a week-long China-Russia "Joint Sea-2014" navy exercise at the East China Sea off Shanghai, China. Double digit annual percentage increases in China’s defense budget have been fueling a top-to-bottom modernization drive that has brought in new equipment and vast improvements in living conditions for the People’s Liberation Army’s 2.3 million members.(Color China Photo via AP, File) CHINA OUT

AUSTRALIA will discuss Beijing’s military build-up in the South China Sea with Malaysia next week as India takes a step back from joining ‘freedom of navigation’ patrols in the troubled waterway.

Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has said he will meet his Australian counterpart next week to discuss responses to China’s ongoing construction of military bases on artificial islands off his nation’s coast.

China claims most of the resource-rich waters through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.

Neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have conflicting claims.

Hishammuddin said he would meet Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne to ensure efforts are made to “hold China to their promise of not placing military assets in the area”.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (front) conducting a trilateral naval exercise with the Turkish and South Korean Navy in support of theatre security operations in waters to the south of the Korean Peninsula. Source: US Navy

“If the reports we’ve received from various sources regarding the build-up and placement of military assets in the Spratlys are true — this forces us in a pushback against China,” Hishammuddin told reporters.

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Meanwhile, New Delhi has ruled out India’s participation in joint ‘freedom of navigation’ patrols in the South China Sea with Australia and the United States.

Itself a rapidly growing economic and military power, New Delhi has become increasingly concerned at China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean.

A woman walks near a patriotic mural depicting Chinese soldiers celebrating, in Beijing. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi took a hard line Tuesday on the country's claims to virtually all the South China Sea, saying Beijing won't permit other nations to infringe on what it considers its sovereign rights in the strategically vital area. Source: AP

Forays by submarines and surface ships have become an almost regular occurrence, and Beijing has begun to establish a naval base in the North African nation of Djibouti.

The subject of joint patrols was earlier this month broached again during a US diplomatic visit.

Chief of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, voiced a proposal that the Australia and India add its navies to his forces in asserting ‘freedom of navigation’ over the contested South China Seas.

US 'misjudges' China's actions in South China Sea #TwoSessions https://t.co/UUNtds7M3Q pic.twitter.com/cyj2IDQvZu

— China.org.cn (@chinaorgcn) March 14, 2016

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But New Delhi has since poured cold water on the subject.

“As of now, India has never taken part in any joint patrol; we only do joint exercises. The question of joint patrol does not arise,” Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Indian Express.

In the past India has only participated in United Nations mandated military operations, such as the Gulf of Aden anti-piracy patrols.

While patrolling the Indian Ocean on Operation Manitou HMAS Melbourne took the opportunity to conduct a 76mm gunnery shoot. Source: Defence

While India has become increasingly vocal in calling for China to back down over its ambitious expansion into the disputed waters, it remains wary of further provoking Beijing.

The two nations have a longstanding dispute over their shared border in the Himilayas

New Delhi recently invited Japan to join its annual naval exercises with the US — a move which drew a torrent of protest from Beijing.

This year, those exercises are scheduled to be held off the north coast of the Philippines.

* With Reuters