India Seeks to Enhance Naval Ties With Malaysia With Defense Deals

Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chairman, the Chiefs of Staff Committee, began a five-day tour to Malaysia on Tuesday a week after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s India visit. During the Malaysian PM’s visit, Adani Ports had initiated a deal to develop Carey Island near Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian partners.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Admiral Lanba is expected to hold further discussions on the purchase of the Malaysian MiG-29 fleet and the supply of fighter jet spare parts to Malaysia. He is also to visit major naval establishments of the Royal Malaysian Navy including the submarine base. India seeks to receive some orders from the Royal Malaysian Navy.

"During his visit, the Admiral will hold discussions with the Deputy Minister of Defense, Chief of Royal Malaysian Defense Forces along with the chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force of Malaysia. An inaugural field training exercise is also scheduled between both navies in June this year, coinciding with the visit of Indian naval ships to Malaysia," said an Indian Navy spokesperson.

Admiral Lanba is visiting Kuala Lumpur in the backdrop of increased mutual trust between China and Malaysia, which was evident in January this year when in an unprecedented move, China docked its attack submarine at Sabah port in Malaysia. China will also supply four 68.8-meter-long Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) that displace about 680 tons at full load each to Malaysia by 2021.

It is expected that 14 additional vessels will be built in Malaysia under license to replace several classes of ships operated by the Royal Malaysian Navy. Altogether, the Royal Malaysian Navy has proposed to replace 50 naval ships to prepare itself against the threat posed by Daesh and the rising tension in the South China Sea.

During the Malaysian Prime Minister's visit, Indian company Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd in co-operation with MMC Ports and Sime Darby Property Berhad began a feasibility study for developing an integrated maritime city on Carey Island, Selangor, Malaysia.

The maritime city is to support the proposed development of a new port on a greenfield site on Carey Island, which is located about 50 km southwest of Kuala Lumpur.

Simultaneously, MMC Ports and Adani Ports have signed a separate memorandum of understanding to explore the feasibility of the Carey Island Port Project as an extension of Port Klang, currently the 11th busiest container port in the world.