LUMUT: The Defence Ministry has issued a notice of demand to a Norwegian manufacturer following the cancellation of an export licence for the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) anti-ship and land-attack missile system.
Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the notice, seeking compensation for both direct and indirect losses, was sent to the company on Tuesday (May 19).
"We are claiming both direct and indirect costs. The direct cost amounts to EUR126mil (RM583.47mil), which has already been paid, and we are also seeking substantial indirect costs, bringing the total claim to about RM1bil.”
He said this to reporters after a working visit to inspect the progress of the littoral combat ship (LCS) project at the Lumut Naval Shipyard at the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) base here on Tuesday.
Also present was Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Dr Zulhelmy Ithnain.
Khaled said the direct claim of EUR126mil represented 95 per cent of payments already made under the RM634.7mil contract involving weapons systems for the LCS fleet as well as two other naval vessels, KD Jebat and KD Lekiu.
He said the Norwegian government had unilaterally revoked the export licence without prior discussions with Malaysia, despite the government having fulfilled all contractual obligations.
"We have paid 95 per cent of the contract value. But at the final stage, based on the chronology of events, the Norwegian government cancelled the export licence for the system unilaterally.
"They refused to issue the export licence because their new policy restricts the export of sensitive defence technology only to allies and close strategic partners.
"Meaning that the export is limited to members of the Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and countries regarded by Norway as strategic partners,” he said.- Bernama
