A diplomatic crisis between Malaysia and Norway after a Norwegian defense company cancelled a deal to supply Malaysia with missiles

On Sunday, Malaysia denounced the deafening silence of major powers after Norway cancelled the delivery of a missile system for its warships.

Norway decided to cancel export licenses for this missile system to the Southeast Asian country, leading to a diplomatic crisis in recent weeks.

The European country stressed that this decision isn’t specifically targeting Malaysia, but Kuala Lumpur is demanding compensation of $252 million from the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace, which is involved in the contract.

Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamad Khaled Nordin criticized on Sunday, in a speech in Singapore during the Shangri-La Dialogue, the annual forum dedicated to defense issues in the Asia-Pacific region, the lack of a firm response from other countries to Norway’s unilateral decision.

“No one has actually expressed concerns about contract protection or the liability of the parties,” he said.

“This deafening silence sends a dangerous message that some countries are simply immune from any critical scrutiny”.

The Malaysian Defense Minister criticized what he considered to be a double standard in the application of international law between developing countries and powerful countries or their allies.

He added that Malaysia is currently negotiating with real partners to purchase this type of missile system.

Oslo had explained that this cancellation was exclusively due to Norway’s application of export control regulations, and described its consequences for Malaysia as unfortunate.

In mid-May, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed to his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Støre, during a telephone call, his country’s strong opposition to the decision to cancel these exports, deeming it unacceptable.

He said it would have serious consequences for Malaysia’s operational capability in the field of defense.