[22] As part of the alliance in Five Power Defence Arrangements, Australia plays a key role in the frequent military exercises between the countries involved.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah told reporters he communicated Malaysia's "ongoing concern" about AUKUS spurring a regional arms race.

[30] The decision was highly opposed by local residents who were living near the proposed site for the plant together with environmentalist groups and Malaysian opposition parties who has expressed their concerns over fears of radioactive contamination.

[30][31] Four Malaysian cabinet member of parliament (MPs) (responsible for trade, science, natural resources and health) have released a joint statement, saying the temporary licence granted to Lynas requires it to remove "all the residue" from the plant out of the country.

[34][35] In 2016, the company licence renewed for another three years with a cautious review undertaken by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) of Malaysia.

[38] The deal was however rejected and declared illegal by the High Court of Australia the following month over concerns as Malaysia had no legal guarantee to protect the rights of asylum seekers especially when the country are not a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, with many evidence has shown the mistreatment of 93,600 asylum seekers in the country including caning and denial of basic rights to the refugees, who mainly come from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

[40] Subsequently, on 2 May 2012, the New Straits Times published an article written by journalist Roy See Wei Zhi with a title header "Observer under scrutiny".

The report replaced words from a 2009 speech made by Xenophon and turned it into an attack on Islam, ostensibly to pit Malay-Muslim opinion against the senator, who was a known associate of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

[42] The following year on 16 February 2013, Xenophon was detained on arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport's LCCT and refused entry by the Malaysian immigration authorities.

[46] Two journalists from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) were detained on 13 March 2016, after attempting to question the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak over corruption allegations towards him, notably the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.