Malaysia today denied that it was embroiled in an arms race with neighbouring Singapore, describing military cooperation as good despite political hiccups, the official Bernama news agency reported.

The comments were made by Defence Minister Najib Razak after a meeting with his newly-appointed Singaporean counterpart Teo Chee Hean.

"Malaysia and Singapore have cooperated in defence for years and both countries are committed to peace in the region," Najib was quoted as saying by Bernama .