Defense analyst Prof Dr Azmi Hassan suggests France could supply offensive anti-ship missiles for Malaysia’s littoral combat ships after Norway revoked its delivery license, with the topic likely to feature during President Emmanuel Macron’s upcoming visit.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia could turn to French anti-ship missiles for its littoral combat ships (LCS) after Norway blocked delivery of the missiles originally ordered for the vessels.
Defence analyst Prof Dr Azmi Hassan said French President Emmanuel Macron was expected to raise the possibility during his Nov 16 and 17 visit to Malaysia.
Azmi, a senior fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, said Malaysia had already agreed to buy surface-to-air missiles from French missile maker MBDA for the same ships.
“This will also give France a strong case to supply the offensive missile as well, even though Turkish and South Korean companies were also in the running.
“Surface-to-air missiles are for defensive purposes, while the anti-ship missile is for offensive purposes. I think there is a good chance that Macron will use this opportunity to highlight that we have already signed a deal to get surface-to-air missiles for our LCS. Then why not the anti-ship missile as well?
“It is a good opportunity for Macron to raise this particular issue since we are looking for a replacement missile for our littoral combat ships,” he told theSun.
Meanwhile, Azmi said Norway’s explanation for cancelling the export permit was unconvincing.
Norway had said sales of its most sensitive defence technologies were now restricted to Nato members and its closest partners.
“It is very odd. France is a member of Nato and Norway is a member of Nato,” he said, adding that Norway had given no further explanation despite repeated requests from Putrajaya.
On Oct 30, French Ambassador to Malaysia Marc Abensour said Macron’s visit, the first by a French president in nearly a decade, would “elevate our bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership”, placing Malaysia alongside Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
Speaking at the Malaysian French Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Malaysia-France Gala Night in Kuala Lumpur, Abensour said the two countries were deepening cooperation in defence, aerospace, energy transition, critical minerals and digital infrastructure.
“The bigger picture of Macron visiting Malaysia is similar to Macron visiting a number of Gulf countries in October to enhance the bilateral relationship between France and the Gulf nations,” Azmi said.
Macron visited Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar from Oct 19 to 21 on a trip focused on securing fuel supplies for France and deepening economic and defence ties.
His second term ends in 2027, and he is ineligible to seek a third.
France signed about €9 billion (RM41 billion) in contracts in Vietnam during Macron’s visit there in May 2025. Indonesia ordered 42 Rafale fighter jets under a US$8.1 billion (RM34 billion) deal signed in 2022 and two Scorpene submarines in 2024.
During Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s trip to Paris in July 2025, which Macron described as the first by a Malaysian leader in 15 years, Malaysia awarded French firm Thales a contract for two more long-range air surveillance radars and invited Macron to visit Malaysia.
The Defence Ministry agreed in July to buy 29 VL MICA surface-to-air missiles from MBDA for the littoral combat ships in a deal valued at RM504.5 million.
