During the tabling of the 2022 Budget, the government announced that RM16.14 billion (USD3.9 billion) will be allocated for our Defence Ministry which amounts to approximately 5% of the total Budget for next year. It comprises RM11.10 billion for operations expenses and RM5.04 billion for development expenses. According to Senior Defence Minister, Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, RM1.6 billion will then be spent to upgrade the readiness of main assets.

Although it represents about 1.8% increase over the allocation in Budget 2021, it is still significantly less when compared to the expenditure of our neighboring countries. Singapore, for instance, announced a 2021 defence budget of USD11.56 billion. Thailand and Indonesia announced a 2022 defence budget of USD6.5 billion and USD9.3 billion respectively. Meanwhile, Philippines’ USD4.39 billion proposed defence budget for next year saw a 7.87 per cent increase compared to 2021.

Thus, compared to other countries, Malaysia allocates far less budget for its defence spending and it is hardly surprising. Malaysia, for so long cherished non-interference and neutral stand on all international conflicts and this has resulted on us being focus more on diplomatic method to avoid the possibility of large-scale disputes. One of it is through military diplomacy. Military diplomacy can be regarded as military activity with a specifically diplomatic purpose where the main objective is to foster goodwill towards Malaysia in other countries. Military diplomacy is also, by its very nature, low-cost and high-impact.

Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin in one press statement on 26 October highlighted that our defence diplomacy that exists today which is one of the tenets that the country holds in many years began to show positive results and is worth more than billions of dollars of military assets. He also added that in facing the geopolitical superpowers in the region, especially in the South China Sea region is something that are complex and not easy. However, our good relationships and cooperation with other countries such as with ASEAN and involvement in FPDA have put us in a strategic and advantageous position.

In another perspective, while military diplomacy provides undeniably numerous advantages, they do provide real constraints and certain limitations. It is not a secret that majority of our country’s military assets are old and outdated. The incident where 16 People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft of China flying over Malaysian maritime zone airspace near Sarawak on 31 May 2021 in tactical formation can only serve as a reminder that our capabilities must increase. With that being said, we can only do so by accelerating our assets modernization. The Hawk 208 LCAs that the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) used to intercept the PLAAF have been in service for more than 25 years and demonstrated how we are `under-invest` when it comes to military assets expenditure.

Although the Hawk aircraft deployed managed to intercept and shadowing those China’s multi-role airlifters, the question arises of whether the Hawk aircraft is capable of doing so in case Beijing dispatches more capable and supersonic aircraft. Not to mention about the significant and constant threats that the country is facing from the maritime zone’s standpoint. Malaysia without a doubt should prioritize its asset acquisitions to strengthen its whole army, naval and air force to deter future threats and hence, automatically improving its strategic defence capability-building.

Nevertheless, a few positive developments have been taken by the government in regard to assets procurement recently. A few weeks after the incursions of the Chinese military aircrafts, the Defence Ministry on 22nd of June launches tender for the supply of 18 fighter lead-in trainer/light combat aircraft (FLIT-LCA). RMAF also in the middle of finalizing the process of leasing four helicopters as an interim replacement for the phased-out ‘ancient’ Nuri. The purchasing of new helicopters however is expected to only be made during the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK-13).

In conclusion, the Defence Minister clearly states that the RM1.6 billion allocated in Budget 2022 is for maintaining current assets readiness, thus we should not expect any major procurement or extensive assets modernization for the following year to come. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may result in an economic slowdown and there is understandably larger amount of money to be spent on the health sector and economic growth. Taking that into consideration, military diplomacy represents something of an opportunity. In a world where international environment filled with global uncertainty and regional instability, such softpower stance would help to ensure that Malaysia gets to protect its national interests without having to spend heavily on military strengthening. Nonetheless, national security remains as one of the country’s top priority and the defence sector needs to be allocated sufficient financial provision to provide a reliable deterrence against future security threats. As the saying goes, “Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between”, Malaysia must balance the necessity of military diplomacy and military strengthening in safeguarding its national sovereignty.

The writer is the analyst at Arthos Sdn. Bhd