Singapore: Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin will meet his Norwegian counterpart in Singapore later this month to seek clarification on the country's surprise decision to block the export licence for naval strike missiles (NSM) to Malaysia. He said the meeting would also be used to express the Malaysian government's regret and surprise at Norway's action in cancelling the delivery of the asset just a few days before the scheduled date in March.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mohamed Khaled emphasized that it is unfortunate for Malaysia as they had signed a contract to purchase the missiles from Norway in 2018. The missiles were supposed to be delivered in March to equip Malaysia's littoral combat ships (LCS) as well as KD Lekiu and KD Jebat. However, just days before the expected delivery, the Norwegian government decided not to grant a license to market the product, impacting Malaysia significantly.

Mohamed Khaled shared these concerns with reporters after officiating the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) MADANI Economic Programme. He indicated that the action taken by Norway did not reflect well on the diplomatic relations between the two countries. He noted that Malaysia is currently using diplomatic channels at multiple levels, including interactions between the Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers, to try to resolve the crisis. He refrained from commenting further, citing ongoing diplomatic efforts.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry has reportedly withdrawn several export licenses related to certain technologies as part of efforts to tighten the country's export controls. According to Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace AS (KDA) website, the NSM procurement was signed between the RMN and KDA in April 2018 with a contract value of 124 million euros (RM571.9 million) to equip six new LCS ships. The missile is capable of carrying out long-range maritime strikes at high subsonic speeds with a range exceeding 300 kilometres.