Foreign and Military Affairs

Malaysian Prime Minister delivered keynote speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue

By Ma Liyao (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-06-03 23:25

Singapore - Dato'Sri Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia delivered the keynote address to the on-going 10th Shangri-La Dialogue on Friday evening.

Razak said in the speech that China's growing military capacity should cause regional countries no undue alarm.

"Despite rapid increases in Chinese military expenditure the United States will continue to be by far the pre-eminent military power and by far the biggest spender. And Minister Liang Guanglie may oversee the world's largest standing army,but in Malaysia we know well that China's first commitment is to peace," Razak said,referring China as partner.

As to another hot topic concerning the disputes over the South China Sea, Razak said the overlapping claims involving six parties are being managed with remarkable restraint.

"We must never allow our disagreement on this issue to escalate beyond the diplomatic realm," he said.