Hishammuddin describes new US Secretary of Defence as someone he can work with

"Someone I can work with," says Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein in describing the new United States (US) Secretary of Defence, General (R) James Mattis.

"Sincere, honest, high integrity, keen to understand us," the Malaysian Defence Minister said in his Twitter account after a Malaysia-US bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue 2017.

Hishammuddin was in Singapore attending the 16th edition of the Asia Security Summit organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) for three days, beginning June 2.

Besides Mattis, he had the opportunity to hold several bilateral meetings with a few of his counterparts, namely Singapore's Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen; Indonesian Defence Minister General (R) Ryamizard Ryacudu; Australian Minister for Defence Senator Marise Payne; France Minister for Armed Forces Sylvie Goulard; and Japanese Defence Minister Tomomi Inada.

"The discussions focused on matters related to bilateral and multilateral defence relations, especially our roles in facing the dynamics of regional security environments," said Hishammuddin in a statement issued on the last day of the Summit here today.

At the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, Hishammuddin had a slot to speak on the topic, ''New Challenges For Crisis Management In The Asia-Pacific'', alongside Canada Minister of National Defence Harjit Singh Sajjan, and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Pakistan Armed Forces, General Zubair Mahmood Hayat.

During his address, the Malaysian minister highlighted the five challenges that he felt were most relevant at present, amongst them the proliferation of Daish's Asia-Pacific ambitions, the escalating tension and volatility in the Korean Peninsula, and inconsistencies in the quest for hegemony over the South China Sea.

In addressing these challenges, Hishammuddin proposed five solutions, amongst them, championing moderation both within and across borders, and renewing commitments to regional and international cooperation.

"Most importantly, I reminded the delegates that when facing threats such as religious extremism, no one country can go at it alone.

"It is crucial now more than ever, that we put a united front, build a coalition and a movement of moderates with likeminded nations, to be the voice of reason to counter terrorism and extremism - a principle which has guided Malaysia''s recent overtures in foreign policy," he said.

-- BERNAMA