“So the exercise we did was similar to the ones we had with the United States of America and China, which do not include military operations”, said Hishammuddin at a press conference at the Defence Ministry here today. The remarks by the Foreign Office came after Saudi Arabia announced it was conducting “the largest, most important military maneuvers” ever staged in the region.
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Participating countries in the manoeuvre are: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Senegal, Sudan, The Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Chad, Tunisia, Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Malaysia, Mauritania and Mauritius.
According to Foreign Office spokesperson Pakistani forces would be part of a multinational military exercises.
SPA did not specify when the military exercise will begin or how long it will last. Twenty Arab, Islamic and friendly countries, in addition to the Peninsula Shield forces, are taking part.
“The training in the area is the first that we have participated in”.
Hishammuddin said the Malaysian armed forces would make use of opportunities to train its personnel in various and multi-terrain situations to make the force a credible one in the region.
Thousands of soldiers from 20 countries started arriving in the Saudi city of Hafr Al-Batin in the past several days ahead of what organizers said are the largest military exercises in the region, labeled “Northern Thunder”.
While Malaysian officials have been focused on downplaying the country’s involvement, Saudi Arabia has unsurprisingly been trying to play the exercises up as a demonstration of its military might.
20 countries are participating.
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Malaysia only interested in three other aspects of Saudi initiative, says Defence Minister.
