More than a thousand United States Marines and other troops are due in the country for a joint naval exercise to increase cooperation between the two countries, a US official said today.

The annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) exercises are scheduled to begin on Saturday on the east coast of the central Pahang state, said Leslie Hull-Ryde, a US Navy spokeswoman.

"In the past, the focus of the exercise was primarily on humanitarian and disaster relief situations - how we will work together in an event of natural disaster," Hull-Ryde told AFP .

Asked if training would include combating cross-border terrorism, she declined to give details but said that a naval criminal investigation service would participate to "deal with areas of shared concerns".

"The US navy gets a lot out of this exercise, it is invaluable," she said, adding that specific knowledge in forest survival was much needed by the US Marines.

"In the wake of 911 (the Sept 11 terror attacks on the United States), our government decided we could not cancel this bilateral exercise as it was just too important to us."

She said some 1,400 US Marine, Coast Guard and army troops would be involved in the two-week exercise.

Buying spree

Defence Minister Najib Razak said he encouraged more such bilateral military and naval exercises and stressed the importance of focusing on issues relating to terrorism.

"We welcome cooperation with the US and other friendly countries, with respect in particular with the war against terrorism," Najib told AFP .

Earlier this month, Malaysia sealed a RM3.7 billion deal to buy three French submarines to establish its first fleet of subs.

The establishment of Malaysia's first submarine fleet is part of an armed forces modernisation programme that has also seen the government order British and Russian missile systems worth RM1.4 billion.

It has also announced plans to buy more than 60 tanks from Poland and is considering a deal to buy Russian Sukhoi SU-30 fighter jets.