CONTINUE TO WORRY, NAJIB & ROSMAH: SCORPENES DATA LEAK STILL A CAUSE FOR CONCERN - ANALYST

There is still a cause for concern for Malaysia following the leak of secret documents regarding India’s Scorpène-class submarines, said defence analyst Lam Choong Wah.

This is despite the government downplaying the implications of the leak on Malaysia’s own Scorpène fleet, which comprises two boats that are also dubbed the 'Perdana Menteri-class'.

Assuming that the leaked documents are authentic, Lam said, the implications are grave and Malaysia should seek technical advice from its shipbuilder DCNS on how to mitigate this – changing training and combat modules if necessary.

“Through the documents, potential opponents will know our noise levels, tactical manoeuvrability, and search and destroy operations. Then they will find ways to counter or neutralise our subs,” he told Malaysiakini last night.

He pointed out that although differences exist between Malaysia’s and India’s versions of the Scorpène submarines, the two sub-classes of submarines are still very similar.

“Despite our deputy defence minister saying there is no worry about it, we share almost the same anechoic (sound-absorbent) tiles, tactical manoeuvre and combat systems, and inner configurations with India.

“The differences are in the propulsion, sonar, battery, and battle management systems.

“To a great extent, our submarines’ defence capability will be compromised,” the senior fellow at the DAP-linked think tank Research for Social Advancement (Refsa) said.

Lam added that Malaysia should also be concerned about allegations that two companies based in Southeast Asia were also involved in passing around the documents after it was supposedly leaked either from France or India.

“Who knows, they might be Malaysian companies?” he said.

Separately, the defence news website Malaysian Defence echoed that the leak should be a serious concern for the Royal Malaysian Navy, especially since it originated from DCNS.

“And the claim that the data leak was somehow connected to a regional navy is a serious one indeed,” it added.

The website said Malaysian authorities are correct, however, in asserting that the Malaysian submarines are different from their Indian counterparts – the latter of which is an updated version of the Scorpène-class.

“The Indian Scorpènes are longer and heavier in displacement, due to its air-independent propulsion system (AIP).

“The Indian submarines are fitted with non-penetrating periscopes while ours are fitted with the older hull-penetrating ones,” it said.

According to Lam, only two out of India’s six submarines would be fitted with an AIP system, which would make the two about 20 percent larger than the rest of its Scorpène fleet.

Malaysia’s Scorpène submarines are not fitted with an AIP system, which would otherwise allow them to operate underwater for longer periods of time by not having to rely solely on batteries for underwater propulsion. These would be of similar size to the non-AIP Indian Scorpènes.

'Would not affect Malaysia’s submarines'

On Wednesday, The Australian reported that 22,400 pages of secret documents detailing the Indian submarines’ entire combat capabilities had been leaked.

India had placed an order of six submarines, which was designed by DCNS but would be built in India. The first of these – the INS Kalvari – is currently undergoing sea trials and is slated to be commissioned in the coming months.

Malaysia had earlier purchased two submarines from DNCS, which are now based in Sepanggar, Sabah. The order was placed in 2002 for a cost of RM3.4 billion.

Also leaked were separate confidential DCNS documents on plans to sell French frigates to Chile and the French sale of the Mistral-class amphibious assault ships to Russia.

The Australian claimed that the leak originated from a French DCNS subcontractor in 2011.

“The data is then believed to have been taken to a company in Southeast Asia, possibly to assist in a commercial venture for a regional navy,” it reported.

It was supposedly passed to another Southeast Asian company, before it ended with a company in Australia. The daily noted that it is unclear how widely shared the documents are.

DCNS had responded saying that it is the provider but not the controller of the data – which is interpreted as finger-pointing at Indian subcontractors for the leak.

Following the leak, navy chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin reportedly said that the leak would not affect Malaysia’s submarines.

“The Malaysian submarines, although from the same class (as the Indian navy’s), have their own set of features and different capabilities. It (the leak) will not affect our submarines,” Free Malaysia Today quoted him as saying yesterday.

Deputy Defence Minister Johari Baharum had also made a similar statement yesterday.

French and Indian governments have also downplayed the security risks posed by the leak.

Indian Defence Ministry said there is no immediate security risk, while the French government said the documents only showed how the submarines operate and did not compromise its security, Reutersreported.

- M'kini