BEIJING―Malaysia will buy four combat vessels from China in a “landmark” defense deal, Prime Minister Najib Razak said, signaling a potential strategic shift away from the United States. Under the terms of the deal, two of the vessels will be built in Malaysia and two in China, Najib said in an op-ed published in the China Daily newspaper on Wednesday during his week-long trip to Beijing. “I call this a landmark decision because before this we have not bought such vessels from China,” Najib said after talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday, according to the Malaysian newspaper The Star. Malaysia has historically acquired the bulk of its major defense hardware from the United States, Russia and Europe. Now China is implementing the power and the US is in retreat,” said Southeast Asia politics analyst Bridget Welsh.

Source: The Standard November 02, 2016 18:51 UTC