By Prashanth Parameswaran
The two countries elevate their bilateral relationship
On Monday, Malaysia and Japan signed a new strategic partnership to elevate their bilateral relationship during Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak’s three-day visit to Tokyo.
Malaysia and Japan already have a close relationship that goes back decades. As early as 1981, Malaysia’s fourth prime minister Mahathir Mohamad initiated the Look East Policy (LEP), which strengthened economic ties between the two nations. The relationship has since blossomed to include other areas of cooperation as well, such as maritime security, peacekeeping, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR). Ties reached a stage of “enhanced partnership” in 2010 before being elevated to a “strategic partnership” this week.
Like most documents of its ilk, the Japan-Malaysia strategic partnership, an eight-page document seen by The Diplomat, consists of several parts outlining the areas of cooperation both sides have agreed to focus on. In this case, there are five sections dealing with peace and stability, economics, maritime security, people-to-people ties, and regional and global cooperation.
Read the full story at The Diplomat