Anwar says Norway’s missile decision has not hurt Malaysia-EU ties

KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 — Leaders from the European Union (EU) have reaffirmed their support for Malaysia after Norway revoked naval strike missile (NSM) exports to the country, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.

Anwar said he had written at length to his European counterparts about the incident, questioning whether Norway’s unilateral decision was the right way to treat a strategic international partner.

In response, he said he received letters from French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Germany’s leaders stating that they fully supported Malaysia on the matter.

“So, the Norwegian stance would not affect Malaysia’s ties with the EU. It is not fair to generalise the incident to the other European countries,” he said during a question-and-answer session at the 39th Asia-Pacific Roundtable at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur today.

Anwar said he was also puzzled by the “security considerations” cited by Norway in abruptly cancelling the deal after Malaysia had nearly settled the payments in full.

“What security considerations? You think we are selling these missiles to Al-Qaeda?” Anwar asked.

The prime minister also said the United States had clarified that it did not influence or pressure Norway to halt the deal with Malaysia.

“I am not defending the US; I am just giving the facts. The US had no objections because they are also selling weapons to us,” he added.

Malaysia is currently seeking RM1.06 billion in compensation from Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (KDA) following the cancellation of the deal. The NSM was intended to be deployed on the Royal Malaysian Navy’s littoral combat ships.