Malaysia has announced a massive program to modernize the entire Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) to better counter threats from China, and from Asian ISIS militants that will return to Asia after the inevitable destruction of the caliphate in Iraq.

The ambitious and expensive modernization program will see the replacement of practically all the 50 surface warships and submarines in the RMN. Over the coming decades, the navy intends to acquire 18 littoral mission ships (LMS); an undetermined number of littoral combat ships (LCS); three new multi-role support ships (MRSS) and two submarines.

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Major units of the RMN currently include 2 submarines; 2 frigates (6 under construction); 6 corvettes; 10 offshore patrol vessels; 8 missile boats and 27 fast attack craft.

"The LMS are designed for many aspects of maritime security such as dealing with cross-border crime, piracy, anti-terrorism and search and rescue operations," said Chief of Navy Admiral Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin.

"These ships would be very capable of dealing with the threat posed by Daesh and other maritime security concerns."

Ironically, four of these LMS will be built by China. Plans to acquire four LMS from China were first announced in November 2016.

Malaysia intends to acquire the Chinese technology that will allow them to build their own LMS.

Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the four LMS from China will enable the RMN to carry out challenging missions and meet international maritime standards. He said the LMS are specially designed for use in anti-piracy operations; cross-border crimes and Islamic State terror activities.

He also said the LMS will replace old RMN vessels that are now too expensive to operate and are less effective in performing operational tasks.

"At the moment, the RMN fleet consists of 15 classes of ships with an average age exceeding 30 years," said Hussein.

"Therefore, the operating cost of the RMN fleet continues to rise each year due to higher maintenance cost."

Malaysia's naval build-up comes amid lingering tensions in the South China Sea due to China's claim to own most of this body of water and its creation of artificial islands. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims to the South China Sea.

TagsMalaysia, Royal Malaysian Navy, RMN, littoral mission ships, Chief of Navy Admiral Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin, Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein