COMMENT | Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Malaysia from April 15 to 17 comes at a strategically pivotal moment, at the intersection of interwoven economic and security needs for both countries.

While the immediate public emphasis is on energy and economic security amidst the fallout from the Iran conflict, the broader strategic importance of defence and security interdependence must never be understated.

The visit underlines the need to protect access to critical resources, especially liquefied natural gas (LNG), as a bulwark of fallback support for both Kuala Lumpur and Canberra while also advancing joint support in food security, investment, and technology.

Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have affected almost 40 percent of Malaysia’s crude oil imports, and this is where Australia’s growing strategic importance has been further underscored, supplying about 96 percent of Malaysia’s imported LNG.

Malaysia, meanwhile...