China launches joint naval drills with Malaysia in Strait of Malacca with more than 1,000 PLA troops

China on Thursday started its first joint naval drill with Malaysia - and its largest yet with an Asean member - with more than a thousand PLA troops taking part in the exercise in the strategically vital Strait of Malacca, state media reported.

Southeast Asian affairs and security experts said the drill indicated the two nations were cooperating closely in military affairs in the strait, through which 80 per cent of China's oil imports pass.

Ships from the Chinese side taking part in the six-day drills include a guided-missile destroyer, a similarly equipped frigate, helicopters and transport aircraft as well as the Peace Ark medical vessel. Some 1,160 PLA personnel, drawn from navy, air and ground forces, were involved, Xinhua reported.

They will practise responses to scenarios including disaster relief, search and rescue, and hijackings, as well as engage in live-fire drills.

Zhang Mingliang, a Southeast Asian affairs expert at Jinan University, said the location of the exercises in the strait and surrounding waters would raise the interest of the US and its allies.

"The US and Japan will definitely keep a close eye on the joint drills between China and Malaysia in the Malacca Strait, which is one of the world's busiest waterways and which has geostrategic importance to Washington and Tokyo," Zhang said.

"The unprecedented military joint drill … proves that the Chinese naval fleet is able to secure navigation safety of its chokepoint in the South China Sea."