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SINGAPORE \u2013 Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin delivered a public rebuke of Norway for cancelling its naval missile system contract, saying the move translates to a loss in trust in international agreements and strategic partnerships.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a plenary session on managing regional tensions amid global competition at the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue, Khaled said trust is no longer universal and has instead become conditional, selective and increasingly transactional.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf even a nation well known for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize could abandon commitment without consequences, then I am afraid international relations are no longer governed by principles,\u201d he said, referring to Norway.<\/p>\n
The Norwegian government was previously reported to have revoked the export licence of a naval strike missile system to Malaysia<\/span><\/a> and its associated launcher system on the grounds of protecting its security.<\/p>\n Citing the Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace US, Malaysia news agency Bernama reported that the procurement deal was signed between the firm and the Royal Malaysian Navy in April 2018 to equip six new littoral combat ships. Malaysia had reportedly paid US$147 million (S$188 million) or, roughly 95 per cent of the contract value, before the cancellation.<\/p>\n It is now seeking a total of around US$251 million in direct and indirect costs.<\/p>\n On May 30, Khaled told reporters that in his conversation with US War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Washington is exploring selling missiles to Malaysia to fulfil the latter\u2019s requirement.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen developing nations violate an agreement, they face condemnation and pressure,\u201d he said in his May 31 speech.<\/p>\n \u201cBut when powerful countries or their allies do the same, the international response becomes conspicuously muted,\u201d he added, referring to what he deemed as silence on Norway\u2019s unilateral decision which he said sends a dangerous message that some countries are \u201cabove scrutiny\u201d.<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters on May 31 after a bilateral meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Tore O. Sandvik, Khaled said Malaysia has expressed its disappointment and regret over the issue.<\/p>\n He said the episode has caused a setback in the two countries\u2019 relationship and the damage done can be repaired only if Malaysia\u2019s payment is refunded.<\/p>\n According to Khaled, there has been no promise to that end.<\/p>\n \u201cThis episode will remain a blot in our relationship. The relationship we enjoyed all this while will not be the same again,\u201d Khaled told reporters.<\/p>\n In his speech, Khaled also slammed the global public for what he called \u201chypocrisy\u201d when it comes to genocide and war crimes, saying: \u201cThe same double standards are visible globally where the ongoing genocide, war crimes and violation of international law often receive selective reaction depending on who is involved.\u201d<\/p>\n Malaysia is a vocal supporter of Palestine,<\/span><\/a> and has consistently labelled Israeli settler-colonialism, especially in Gaza, as \u201cgenocide and ethnic cleansing\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThis hypocrisy is profoundly destructive to the legitimacy and credibility of the rules-based international order,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n In the question-and-answer session, a delegate from Indonesia asked whether Khaled\u2019s fellow panellists \u2013 Japan Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, and Netherlands Deputy Prime Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius \u2013 agreed with the Malaysian minister that there is a selective application of international law.<\/p>\n Koizumi did not address the question, while Yesilgoz-Zegerius gave the Russia-Ukraine conflict<\/span><\/a> as an example where international law enforcement is crucial.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is very important that we make sure that Russia does not win. That is not only very important for our continent, I think (also) for the whole world,\u201d the Netherlands defence minister said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also a clear signal that brutal aggression and an unjust war that Putin cannot prevail. I think that is very key for Putin and all others who are seeking conflict in that,\u201d she added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin delivered a public rebuke of Norway for cancelling its naval missile system contract, saying the move translates…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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