Operations to monitor nation's waters not affected - Hishammuddin

The Defence Ministry has assured that the air monitoring operations in local waters by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will not be affected following the suspension of three Beechcraft B-200T aircraft.

Its minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said besides these aircraft, Malaysia also collaborated with several super power nations like United States and China, as well as the Philippines and Indonesia to monitor the waters from the air.

"On this matter, we have to think out of the box, with the Beechcraft B-200T we cannot challenge the P-8 Poseidon and Lockheed P-3 Orion owned by USA, Indonesia and China, but through our relations with the super power nations, we will get information relating to the South China Sea, the security situation in the Sulu Sea.

"If we have close collaborations with the super powers, with our neighbours in Asean through the trilateral relations between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, just because we have one less out of the four Beechcraft, doesnt mean information will not be coming to us," he told reporters after launching the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security (MiDAS) building in MINDEF here today.

He said the close ties and mutual respect between the nations meant that intelligence information was being shared.

Following the plane crash at the Butterworth Air Base yesterday, the RMAF had ordered that three more of its Beechcraft B-200T based in Subang be grounded.

The tragedy involving the RMAF's Beechcraft B-200T at the air base at 5.18pm yesterday killed TUDM pilot, Major C. Kayamboo, 44 years while three others - Captain Wai Lik, 26, Airforce Sergeant Mohd Sofi Azizan, 29 and Lt Hamid Hanafi, 26.

-- BERNAMA