Malaysia and the United States today signed a 10-year military logistics agreement pledging to cooperate by providing military logistical support, supplies, and services to each other on a voluntary basis with each party making 'its best efforts, consistent with national policies and priorities'.

According to a media brief released by the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur during the ceremony in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysia-United States Acquisition And Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) 'will also support coordination of bilateral and multilateral emergency relief operations' such as last year's tsunami and earthquake incident.

Moreover, the agreement is also 'the foundation for other agreements, such as a memorandum of understanding on refueling cooperation'.

The agreement was signed by the secretary-general of Malaysia's Defence Ministry Subhan Jasmon and US ambassador to Malaysia Christopher J LaFleur. Witnessing the signing were Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak and US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick.

Also present was former US ambassador to Malaysia Marie T Huhtala who is now deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

According to a Malaysian Defence Ministry official at the ceremony, the 10-year agreement was first inked in 1994 and the current one is a 'renewal'. Asked whether there are upgrades or changes of the provisions, the official declined to comment.

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Contrary to the popular impression given by the 22-year rule (1981-2003) of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia and the United States have been close in security and defence linkages .

Since 1960s, Malaysia has been a recipient of US's military aids under the International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme. In 1984, Malaysia and US also signed a Bilateral Training and Consultation (BITAC) agreement which established a series of working groups involving exercises, intelligence sharing, logistical support, and general security issues.

In 2002, both governments also signed a Declaration of Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism . For many years, US warships including nuclear-powered aircraft carriers have frequently been making port calls at Malaysian harbours.

However, when it was reported that the US planned to assign its Special Operations Forces to patrol the Straits of Malacca, which is said to be under security threats from pirates and potential terrorists, Malaysia, together with Indonesia publicly rejected the purported proposal.

The US Pacific Command later clarified that its then commander-in-chief's remarks at a congressional hearing were not reported accurately by the media.