Malaysia’s budget constraints weigh down defence spending plans

By admin-s On Mar 20, 2015

(MMO) – Budget constraints are jeopardising Malaysia’s defence spending plans, which include replacing ageing fighter jets and beefing up its maritime capabilities, at a time when Beijing is growing more assertive in the disputed South China Sea.

While Malaysia has traditionally played down any tensions with China over the contested waterway, it has long expressed concern about piracy and security along its land and coastal borders.

More recently, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 after it flew unimpeded across the Malay Peninsula last year exposed gaps in the military’s tracking of the skies.

“We have a lot of areas to be concerned about. The Straits of Malacca, the south-western part of the South China Sea and others,” Navy chief Admiral Abdul Aziz Jaafar told Reuters on the sidelines of an airshow on the Malaysian coastal island resort of Langkawi this week.

“We don’t have enough to cover it all. The best way is synergy, by working together with regional partners we can ensure maritime security,” Jaafar added, referring to possible joint sea patrols among Southeast Asian nations.

Malaysia’s 2015 defence budget of RM17.7 billion does not offer much hope for new kit, given it includes only RM3.6 billion for military procurement.

This has been earmarked mainly for the purchase of four Airbus Military A400M cargo planes as well as navy patrol vessels. An A400M was on display at the airshow along with recently acquired Airbus EC725 utility helicopters.

A prolonged slump in oil prices is expected to further hurt the net oil exporting nation while heavily indebted state investor 1MDB could drag on public finances.

“Malaysian acquisition plans have been continually postponed for reasons of financial constraints,” said Richard Bitzinger, a security expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

“The navy is short of ships, and the army is similarly under-equipped. Compare sizes with, say, Singapore, which has more than five times as many frontline (jet) fighters and twice as many main battle tanks as the Malaysian armed forces.”