Anwar Blasts Norway Missile Scrap as Western Hypocrisy
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- Anwar Ibrahim said Norway's scrapping of a missile deal reflects a "dangerous trend of double standards," delivering the keynote at the 39th Asia-Pacific Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur on July 2.
- Norway revoked export licenses for the Naval Strike Missiles in May, days before scheduled delivery under a 2018 contract with Malaysia's Royal Malaysian Navy valued at €124 million (US$141.6 million).
- French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told Anwar that Norway's position did not represent the EU's; Norway is closely aligned with but not a member of the bloc.
- Anwar said Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Stoere cited "security considerations" for the cancellation, sarcastically asking: "You think we are selling these missiles to Al Qaeda?"
- Anwar retracted initial suspicions of US pressure behind the cancellation, noting the US continues to supply weapons to Malaysia: "We acknowledge that we were wrong."
- Malaysia plans to seek over RM1 billion (US$245 million) in damages from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, having already paid RM583 million of the RM634 million procurement contract for missiles to equip six littoral combat ships.
- Anwar cited the wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, and Sudan as signs of "systematic devaluation of respect for international norms" and declared Malaysia's foreign policy would remain "fiercely independent, proactive and non-aligned."
Why it matters: Malaysia's RM1 billion (US$245 million) damages claim against Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace signals this won't quietly resolve — it tests whether Western defense partners can revoke binding arms contracts without consequence. Anwar's linkage of a bilateral arms dispute to Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan reframes a procurement fight as a Global South rallying point against perceived Western legal hypocrisy.
