The Minister of Defence, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan, in his speech in the Parliament, confirmed that the Royal Malaysian Navy sea-base, Pengkalan Laut Tun Sharifah Rodziah operation will end in 2026. According to him, the cost of the operation is too high. However, he did not provide any figure to support the cost of the operation for the sea base.
The RMN launched the sea-base concept circa 2013, after the Royal Sulu Forces (RSF) militant group incursion that saw the Malaysian Armed Forces launching Op Daulat to eradicate their threat. 10 Malaysian security personnel (eight police officers and two soldiers) died in the operation.
The RMN adopted the sea base concept from US Navy sea basing paper, where purpose-built ships and barges operate near contested waters to supply US Navy ships and as Forward Operation Bases (FOB). Within the Malaysian context, the sea base operates as a Forward Operation Base (FOB) where Malaysian security forces can launch interception and interdiction missions against any intruders, including Kidnap-For-Ransom (KFR) groups based in Southern Philippines, either via helicopter-borne units or fast interceptor boats.
RMN operates two sea bases, the Pengkalan Laut Tun Sharifah Rodziah and Kapal Auksilari Tun Azizan. Tun Sharifah Rodziah is a floating oil rig Petronas had donated to the Navy, while Tun Azizan is a former merchant ship under MISC converted into an auxiliary navy ship. For the record, the military action flick Paskal, which featured the Navy's special operations force, had used the Tun Sharifah Rodziah to depict the oil rig which came under pirates' attack.
The deactivation of the sea base does not bode well for those living in the Eastern Security Zone (ESSZONE) under Eastern Security Command (ESSCOM), as this potentially increases the risk of militant and KFR groups infiltrating Sabah undetected. Even when the Navy has already received four Chinese-made Keris class Littoral Mission Ships (LMS), the area of operation is still substantially large.
Separately, a resurging Philippines Armed Force may possibly pose a bigger threat to Sabah specifically, as Malacanang still refuse to drop their claim on Sabah.
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