Long battle expected for compensation over scrapped missile deal

 Defence minister Khaled Nordin says Oslo has not been cooperative despite cancelling the contract the last minute.

In May, the Norwegian government revoked the export licence for the NSM system ordered by Malaysia under a 2018 contract to equip the navy’s littoral combat ships. (Kongsberg Defence pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Malaysia faces a long, arduous journey ahead to be compensated for the scrapped naval strike missile system deal with Norwegian firm Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS, says defence minister Khaled Nordin.

Khaled said the Norwegian government has not been cooperative about the issue despite being the reason the contract was cancelled at the last minute, Berita Harian reported.

“We have submitted requests for their assistance at various levels, including from the prime minister, the foreign minister and myself. However, they have not helped us in our efforts at all.

“So, we were forced to make a claim on the company. We expect this to be a long process,” he was quoted as saying.

Malaysia ordered the system from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace under a 2018 contract to equip six littoral combat ships, but the Norwegian government revoked the export permit in May, saying exports of its defence technology would be limited to its “allies and closest partners”.

The government is seeking more than RM1 billion in compensation from Kongsberg for direct and indirect losses as it had already paid 95% of the RM634 million procurement price.

In June, Khaled said Malaysia was evaluating new missile systems from countries such as Italy, Japan, France, Turkey and South Korea.

Yesterday, the minister said the government was considering allocating up to more than RM1 billion for the new missile systems. - FMT