KL to borrow assault boats from Sweden

KL to borrow assault boats from Sweden

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Malaysia plans to borrow four assault boats from Sweden to bolster defense in Sabah state on the northeastern coast of Borneo island, its defense minister said on Monday.

Arrangements to take delivery of the boats were being discussed with Sweden, Minister of Defense Najib Tun Razak was quoted as saying by national news agency Bernama. "Before next year we can have four additional boats," he said.

Muslim separatists from neighboring Philippines intruded in Malaysian waters off Sabah twice this year, whisking away 24 hostages, 21 of them foreign tourists.

Following an outcry over lax security, military operations in the surrounding waters were heightened and the number of vessels patrolling the area was tripled.

The military, he said, is already using two Swedish boats in their current defense exercises.