Mat Sabu checks on RMN ships in China
KUALA LUMPUR: Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu checked on the progress of two Littoral Mission Ship (LMS), which are under construction for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), when he visited a shipyard in Wuhan, China, yesterday.
The Defence Ministry, in a statement, said Mohamad, who is on a four-day working visit to China until tomorrow, conducted two ceremonies on the vessels — the keel laying on LMS 1 and the first steel cutting on LMS 2.
“Malaysia, in collaboration with China, is involved in the construction of four LMS for RMN.
“Two ships are being built in China, while the other two are being built in Malaysia. This ensures the sharing and transfer of technology between both countries.
“This is an RMN defence asset acquisition project from China to realise the 15-to-5 Fleet Transformation Programme (an asset restructuring programme where 15 classes of vessels will be reduced to five classes).”
Mohamad will meet his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe, and China’s Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman General Xu Qiliang, to strengthen defence cooperation.
“This meeting gives Mohamad an opportunity to interact more openly with China’s leaders,” the statement said.
“The working visit is seen as an important platform and commitment of both countries to strengthen cooperation through defence diplomacy to ensure that national sovereignty and stability in the region are preserved.”
Mohamad will attend the 8th Beijing Xianshan Forum in Beijing and will deliver a speech titled “Terrorism Threats and Countermeasures” today.