SINGAPORE — Norwegian Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik has apologised for his government’s decision to cancel the export licence for Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) to Malaysia, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
The apology was delivered during a bilateral meeting between the two ministers today on the sidelines of the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue here.
Mohamed Khaled said Malaysia expressed disappointment, while Sandvik also detailed the reasons behind Norway’s cancellation decision.
“We conveyed honestly and plainly our disappointment, because a long, close, and good relationship has existed between Norway and Malaysia, yet this NSM cancellation episode has happened,” he told Bernama after the bilateral meeting today.
“He apologised and laid out the basis for the cancellation,” he added.
The Norwegian government revoked Malaysia’s export license for the NSM system and its launchers, citing national security concerns. Malaysia says it was only informed of the matter in April.
The NSM deal was signed between the Royal Malaysian Navy and Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) in April 2018. The €124 million (RM571.9 million) contract was meant to equip six new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).
Mohamed Khaled said the government expects Norway, as a friendly nation, to return the payments already made, which is approximately 95 per cent of the total contract value.
“Norway’s defence minister will raise this with his government.”
However, Mohamed Khaled said he was “doubtful” that the outcome would be favourable.
He was also quoted saying by the New Straits Times that this episode would be a “permanent blemish in Malaysia-Norway relations and it can never return to how it was before”.
Malaysia has sent a formal letter of demand to the company involved and is now awaiting Norway’s response, Mohamed Khaled added.
Mohamed Khaled, who also spoke at the sixth plenary session of Shangri-La Dialogue 2026 today, raised concerned over “double-standards” in international law.
He said international law was now “selectively interpreted” by strong powers when convenient, naming genocide and war crimes as violations which received selective reactions, depending on who was involved.
“Institutions — such as the United Nations — established to uphold stability, multilateralism, and international law, are becoming increasingly weakened in the face of geopolitical rivalry.
“When developing nations violate agreements, they face condemnation and pressure, but when powerful countries or their allies do the same, the international response becomes conspicuously muted,” he said in his speech titled “Managing Regional Tensions Amid Global Competition”.
He also used Norway’s cancellation of the NSM export to Malaysia as an example, questioning if international agreements and strategic partnerships between countries can still be trusted.
He said the silence surrounding Norway’s unilateral decision to cancel the exports for deal already signed was particularly telling, as little concern had been raised regarding the integrity of contracts or accountability. – May 31, 2026