Malaysia to buy four warships from China as it drifts away from US
Beijing — Malaysia will buy four warships from China in a "landmark" defence deal, Prime Minister Najib Razak said, signalling a strategic shift away from the US. This is Kuala Lumpur’s first purchase of fighting vessels from Beijing and comes only two weeks after Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte announced his "separation" from Washington during a visit to China. Two of the vessels will be built in Malaysia and two in China, Najib said in the China Daily newspaper on Wednesday during his week-long trip to Beijing. "I call this a landmark decision," Najib said after talks with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang on Tuesday, according to Malaysian newspaper The Star. Malaysia historically acquired most its major defence hardware from the US, Russia and European countries. Analysts said the accord was a setback for Washington’s "pivot" towards Asia and underlined China’s increasing diplomatic and economic gravitational pull in the region, despite its territorial disputes. Malaysia a...
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