Kuala lumpur: Malaysia will consider weaponry systems procurement from any countries that are willing to share and transfer their technologies, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin. He emphasized that as a neutral nation, Malaysia has been procuring military equipment from various countries, provided the terms are set based on trust.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mohamed Khaled highlighted Malaysia's focus on technology transfer during procurement processes, seeking partnerships with countries that view Malaysia not just as a customer, but as partners. He noted, "Partners in the sense that they are willing to support our policy, and one of our new policies is to be able to be self-reliant to support our local defence industry," during his remarks at the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD).

Malaysia has previously benefited from technology transfers from countries like Turkiye, South Korea, and Australia. On the second day of the SLD held at Shangri-La Singapore, Mohamed Khaled engaged in bilateral meetings with counterparts from Singapore, the Czech Republic, Italy, France, New Zealand, and Thailand.

Additionally, Mohamed Khaled expressed his intention to address Malaysia's disappointment over Norway's cancellation of export licenses for a missile system intended for Malaysia, in a scheduled meeting with Norwegian counterpart Tore O. Sandvik.

In response to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's call for allied countries to boost their defence spending, Mohamed Khaled stated that Malaysia will continue to chart its own defence policy according to its priorities. He noted the importance of self-reliance, saying, "We must be able to protect and defend ourselves rather than relying or giving to other countries to defend and help us."

The minister reiterated that Malaysia will evaluate its defence spending with consideration of its national budget, which also supports various sectors to ensure sustainable development.