KUALA LUMPUR: The Defence Ministry is currently in the final stage of discussions to ensure that the sovereignty of the Sabah east coast continues to be preserved.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the discussions between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines were an initiative to establish security cooperation in the Sulu Sea under the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA).

“These efforts are being done because we are aware that security threats in the water cannot be handled by one country alone,” he told the Dewan Negara today.

Hishammuddin also said that to address threats posed by the Islamic State, the Armed Forces, together with the Wasatiyyah Institute of Malaysia, recently organised the Wasatiyyah Asean Conference from Nov 22 to 24.

“The conference was also attended by Asean representatives and observers from Saudi Arabia.

“As a result of the conference, the approach adopted by Malaysia has been recognised as one of the ways to tackle the extremist movement as well as misunderstandings of Islam,” he said in a reply to Senator Datuk Seri Khairuddin Samad today.

Khairuddin had asked on the steps taken by the ministry in dealing with security threats from abroad that could undermine national sovereignty.-nst