Malaysia is highly capable in its COVID-19 pandemic response.

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) Command Surgeon and Chief of the Medical Corps Rear Admiral Pamela Miller said the country’s pool of professional and experts are paramount in the country's effort to fight the virus.

“Malaysia is extremely fortunate to have such a highly trained, talented team of professional that are ready to assist this country during COVID or any other crisis. I’m very impressed by their capabilities and capacity and consider ourselves lucky to have them as a regional partner.” said Miller during her visit to Malaysia for the Bilateral Training and Consultative Group (BITACG), an established military to military event between USINDOPACOM and Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF).

She added how Malaysia’s achievement in being among the top countries with the highest vaccination population sets precedent for other countries to prioritise vaccination as a way out of the pandemic.

When discussing about the role of military in assisting with pandemic response, Miller stressed the importance of military in managing large scale logistics and providing medical expertise.

At the same time, she added how Malaysia’s involvement in the Global Health Security Agenda would help foster regional collaboration to share real time knowledge and global response to COVID-19 and future pandemics.

When asked about areas of improvement, Miller explained the focus should be more on handling the pandemic as a team and learning from one another.

“Any one of us practicing medicine in the military or in the civilian community right now in our generation has not faced this type of pandemic. It was a new experience for all of us and I don’t think it’s a matter of what needs to be improved. The ability to response to the pandemic and what we learned from this is a journey and it’s a journey we all are on.”

According to her, the United States military is working to improve inoperability and capability to response to regional requirements.

These include expanding areas of mutual interest and partnership such as drafting doctrines for joint health service support, exploring battlefield and pre- hospital trauma care, exchanging subject matter expert as well as building leaders in the medical professional world.

BITACG was established in 1984 with the aim to coordinate military activities between the two countries, which include training, courses, and military exercises.

The official medical working group was set up this year, formalising the military to military medical relationship between USINDOPACOM and Malaysian armed forces.