The Hindu : Front Page : India, Malaysia to step up defence ties

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Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008
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India, Malaysia to step up defence ties

P. S. Suryanarayana

Agreement was spelt out after a meeting between Antony and Minister Mohd Najib Tun Razak

KUALA LUMPUR: India and Malaysia on Monday agreed to elevate their defence cooperation to a new high and outlined a programme for the training of Malaysian Air Force personnel by Indian specialists in the operation of Su-30 MKM aircraft.

The agreement was spelt out in a joint press statement issued here after a meeting between Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mohd Najib Tun Razak. A range of new possibilities across a wide spectrum was emphasised — co-production, joint ventures, and military-related industry collaboration at one level, and interaction with other nations to promote regional and global security, at another level.

The political atmospherics of the meeting between the two Ministers was heightened by an announcement by Mr. Najib about the awarding of a huge Malaysian contract to India in railways.

The $ 1.08-billion project, awarded to IRCON, covers the planned construction of a 100-km two-track network between Seremban and Gemas in Malaysia. As a long-pending contract, it had in fact turned into an irritant on the bilateral front, and Mr. Najib’s latest announcement, therefore, acquires significance.

Both Ministers hailed the “new momentum” in the bilateral defence domain, with Mr. Antony describing his engagement with Mr. Najib as “result-oriented.”

The Indian delegation included Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha, and External Affairs Ministry Joint Secretary Biren Nanda on the civilian side, besides Air Marshal N.A.K. Browne, Vice-Admiral K.N. Sushil, and Lt. Gen. Z.U. Shah on the military side.

Asked whether Malaysia, a key littoral State along the busy Straits of Malacca, would, after these talks, want India to play a role in such ongoing projects as the “Eye in the Sky” relating to security across this waterway, Mr. Najib said: “India is ready to work closely with us [especially] in the field of capacity-building.”

The offer was made, he pointed out, on the basis of the “principle” that “the primary responsibility for the security and safety aspects of Malacca lie with the littoral states.” India, Mr. Najib emphasised, “respects this principle.”

The press statement said both sides “will seek to develop an annual calendar of cooperation” in the defence domain.

On advanced training for the Malaysian Air Force personnel, the Indian side said a team of 31 Indian Air Force specialists would be based in this country for two years from February. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. was involved in the training for the operational maintenance of Malaysia’s Su-30 MKM combat aircraft.

Naval cooperation was also emphasised, with the two countries likely to extend it to cover the Scorpene class of submarines which Malaysia would acquire and India “is producing.” Yet another area specified was counter-insurgency training on a coordinated basis.

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