KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will not rush to increase its defence spending despite calls from the United States for allies and partners to become more self-reliant, says Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
He said the national budget must be allocated across various sectors as Malaysia is not a developed country.
“It does not mean we will implement it immediately simply because the United States says so,” Mohamed Khaled said on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore yesterday, according to Bloomberg.
His remarks came shortly after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth urged Asian allies to raise military spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product, partly in response to what he described as China’s “historic military buildup”.
On a separate matter, Mohamed Khaled said the United States had indicated its willingness to consider supplying missiles to Malaysia as a possible solution to issues surrounding the country’s acquisition of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) system from Norway.
He said the matter was raised during a bilateral meeting with Hegseth on Friday, where Malaysia briefed the United States on challenges arising from the NSM procurement and sought Washington’s views.
“We asked the United States for its views to help find a solution to the issue because it is well known that a US company manufactures the same missile system as Norway.
“We also asked whether the United States would be willing to approve the sale of the missile to Malaysia to address the situation,” he said.
Norway was previously reported to have revoked the export licence for the NSM anti-ship and its associated launcher system to Malaysia on national security grounds.
Later, Mohamed Khaled said he would convey Putrajaya’s position on Oslo’s cancellation of export licences for the missiles with his Norwegian counterpart Tore O. Sandvik today.
According to Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace’s website, the NSM procurement agreement was signed between the Royal Malaysian Navy and the company in April 2018 under a contract worth €124mil (RM571.9mil) to equip six littoral combat ships.
Mohamed Khaled said the United States had also proposed information-sharing cooperation related to Malaysia’s maritime domain awareness efforts.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Khaled also held talks with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles on strengthening strategic cooperation between the two countries.
The discussions covered the establishment of a Joint Planning Committee, expanded information sharing and preparations for upcoming Malaysia-Australia High-Level Committee and Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) meetings.
“I congratulate Australia on the implementation of its National Defence Strategy 2026 and Integrated Investment Programme 2026 as important steps towards strengthening its defence capabilities and readiness,” he said.
Mohamed Khaled also met representatives from other FPDA member countries.
“Since its establishment in 1971, the FPDA has remained one of the longest-standing defence pacts and continues to be relevant.
“The relationships forged through this platform have strengthened understanding, built confidence and fostered close cooperation among member countries in addressing current security challenges. I hope the spirit of cooperation built over more than five decades will continue to be strengthened in the interests of peace, stability and prosperity,” he said.
The FPDA is a series of multilateral defence agreements established between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, that provides external defence support for Malaysia and Singapore.
The Shangri-La Dialogue 2026, organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, is being held until today and brings together defence ministers, military chiefs and diplomats from dozens of countries to discuss regional and global security issues.
