Malaysia renews call for interlinking of Asean defence industries but will it work?

Malaysia has renewed calls for a unified Southeast Asian defence industry to reduce reliance on foreign arms suppliers, but analysts have warned the plan faces major obstacles, including technological gaps, political divisions and funding constraints, that will prevent it from being realised any time soon.

Speaking at the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting Retreat in Penang on February 26, Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin called on his counterparts to expand cooperation across their defence industries, saying greater collaboration was “vital for reducing reliance on external suppliers and fostering regional self-reliance in defence acquisition and technological development”.

He added that the long-term viability of these initiatives was “reliant upon reinvigorating defence industry linkages among Asean member states” and that strengthening the bloc’s defence supply chain could pave the way towards harmonised standards.

“The region faces both traditional and non-traditional security threats that no single country can tackle alone,” Mohamed Khaled said.

The minister’s remarks come against the backdrop of ongoing maritime tensions in the South China Sea, where Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei have overlapping claims. China claims nearly the entire waterway under its nine-dash line, despite an international arbitration ruling that invalidated the claim.

China and Asean have spent more than two decades negotiating a code of conduct for the South China Sea – an agreement aimed at managing disputes and preventing conflict – but progress has been slow despite commitments to accelerate talks and finalise a deal by 2026.