KUALA LUMPUR: Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu checked on the progress of two Littoral Mission Ship (LMS) currently under construction for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) when he visited the Shipyard in Wuhan, China, today.
According to Defence Ministry’s statement, Mohamad, who is on a four-day working visit to China until Friday (Oct 26), was also present to conduct two ceremonies on the vessels – the Keel Laying on LMS 1 and the First Steel Cutting on LMS 2.
“Malaysia in collaboration with China is involved in the construction of four LMS for the RMN, with two being built in China and the other two in Malaysia, which saw the sharing and transfer of technology between both countries.
“This is an RMN defence asset acquisition project from China to realise the 15-to-5 Fleet Transformation Programme (asset restructuring programme where 15 classes of vessels would be reduced to only five classes),” the statement said.
Meanwhile, Mohamad is scheduled to meet with China's Defence Minister, General Wei Fenghe and China Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman, General Xu Qiliang, in efforts to strengthen defence cooperation between the two nations.
“This meeting gives Mohamad an opportunity to interact more openly with China's top leaders.
“The working visit has been seen as an important platform and commitment of both countries in strengthening cooperation through defence diplomacy to ensure that national sovereignty and stability in the region are always preserved,” the statement said.
Mohamad is also scheduled to attend the 8th Beijing Xianshan Forum in Beijing and would be given the honour of delivering a speech titled 'Terrorism Threats and Countermeasures' on Thursday. -- BERNAMA