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Malaysia-China defence ties cool amid political changes and South China Sea tensions
China was commissioned to build four littoral mission ships for Malaysia. Photo: Royal Malaysian Navy/Facebook
In 2017, Malaysia and China's defence relationship peaked after former prime minister Najib Razak renewed a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation during a trip to Beijing.
The October 2016 visit came months after a special arbitral tribunal ruled in favour of the Philippines in its dispute with Beijing over its South China Sea claims, and the Najib government seemed determined to not let the landmark case affect its pursuit of closer ties with China.