Malaysia to buy first submarines<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysia said on Sunday it would go
\nahead with plans to buy its first submarines in a move diplomats
\nsaid could unsettle its Southeast Asian neighbors and lead to an
\narms race in the region.<\/p>\n
Defense minister Najib Razak said the submarines, first
\nproposed a decade ago, were necessary to help boost the country's
\ndefense capabilities, the national Bernama news agency said.<\/p>\n
The armed forces would acquire high technology and
\nsophisticated weaponry to \"deter threats from external elements\",
\nBernama said. It was not clear from which country the submarines
\nwere to be bought.<\/p>\n
Diplomats say the Malaysian move could lead to an arms race in
\nthe region. An Asian diplomat said the move seemed to be in
\ndirect response to neighboring Singapore's purchase of four
\nsecond-hand Sjoormen-class submarines from Sweden.<\/p>\n
Malaysia, along with Brunei, China, the Philippines, Taiwan
\nand Vietnam, is locked in a territorial dispute over the
\nSpratlys, a cluster of potentially oil-rich isles, reefs and
\nshoals in the South China Sea.<\/p>",
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