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Malaysia’s Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin slammed the international community’s “muted” response on Sunday at a security forum over Norway’s decision to scrap a missile deal with Kuala Lumpur.
In a charged speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Khaled said the “deafening silence” on Oslo’s cancellation of the agreement sent a message that certain countries were “simply above scrutiny”, questioning if global rules were subject to the will of bigger powers.
Earlier this month, the Scandinavian country stopped Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) from completing the delivery of Naval Strike Missiles to Malaysia.
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The Southeast Asian nation said it had already paid 95 per cent of the contract, valued at US$146.4 million, for the weapons systems meant to equip its littoral combat ship fleet.
Khaled said developing nations faced condemnation and pressure when violating agreements, but when powerful countries or their allies did the same, the international response became “conspicuously muted”.
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He said international frameworks were now being disregarded and “selectively interpreted” when they did not align with geopolitical interests.
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