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KOTA KINABALU – Budget 2023 should emphasise new acquisitions, and upgrade the capabilities of military assets through increased defence allocations to tackle threats to national security, said Eastern Fleet commander Datuk Sabri Zali.
He said the increase in the defence budget was critical, especially to improve the capability of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s (RMN) combat assets, which are getting outdated and becoming obsolete, forming the main challenge in its efforts to manage the deployment of its assets at the maximum level.
Sabri said that with the change in the current landscape of maritime threats and intervention of major powers in the South China Sea, RMN is in dire need of combat-capable assets to tackle security threats to the country.
“Presently, the combat capability of RMN assets is at a critical level. In fact, the assets under the Eastern Fleet only consist of Flotilla Ronda (for patrolling), which are not equipped with combat capabilities such as weapon systems, surveillance radars, trackers, and missiles.
"Therefore, the acquisition of new assets such as the littoral combat ships is very critical for RMN to carry out the duties and trusts entrusted to them,” he said in a statement tonight.
He said the Eastern Fleet Command Headquarters supports the proposal put forth by Navy Chief Tan Sri Mohd Reza Mohd Sany urging the government to increase the country’s defence budget to 1.5% of the gross domestic product.
“The defence budget is like buying an insurance policy for national security, which will face high risk if only the minimum policy is purchased. This will have a detrimental effect on the country when it is facing a security crisis,” he added. – Bernama, October 4, 2022