Malaysia to Purchase Four Navy Ships From China in Landmark Deal - Bloomberg
▻http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-02/malaysia-to-purchase-four-navy-ships-from-china-in-landmark-deal
Malaysia said it will buy at least four Littoral Mission Ships from China as Prime Minister Najib Razak announced “new steps” in military cooperation between the two countries.
Najib oversaw the purchase of the vessels on Tuesday during a state visit to Beijing. While no details were released on the value of the ships, the deal comes after Malaysia recently announced that it was cutting its defense budget by 13 percent.
“Now we have agreed the first significant defence deal between our two countries, with Malaysia purchasing littoral mission ships from China,” Najib said Wednesday in an editorial published in the China Daily newspaper. The first two will be built in China and the next two in Malaysia, with further Malaysian-built ships subject to government financing, he said.