Malaysia explores BrahMos missile amid closer India defence ties (Img: IANS)
New Delhi: Malaysia's interest in acquiring the BrahMos air-to-surface missile system, jointly developed by India and Russia, could help the country diversify its defence partnerships. It will also reduce its dependence on the United States and US-aligned nations, a report said.
“Closer cooperation with India gives Malaysia another important economic and security partner without requiring Putrajaya to move decisively into any one camp,” said Kamles Kumar, associate director for Malaysia at strategic consultancy Asia Group Advisors, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
India could emerge as an important addition to Malaysia's defence partnerships after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed interest in the BrahMos system following his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Kamles said diversifying defence partnerships could help Malaysia preserve its strategic autonomy, although he noted that such a move could attract attention in Beijing.
“Given the missile’s range and versatility, it could also affect perceptions of Malaysia’s deterrence posture in the South China Sea,” Kamles said, referring to the waterway where China and Malaysia have overlapping claims.
“Putrajaya would therefore need to communicate clearly that any acquisition is intended to strengthen national defence, rather than target a particular country,” he added.
Anwar was in New Delhi on September 12-13 for the BRICS summit, where Malaysia participated as a partner country. He later travelled within India, while also pushing for greater capital flows between the two countries, the report said.
“Malaysia's economic relationship with India is underdeveloped," said Yeah Kim Leng, an economics professor at Sunway University, the SCMP reported.
Malaysia's trade with India reached 79.3 billion ringgit in 2025, significantly below the more than 900 billion ringgit it traded with the US and China. This was despite the comprehensive strategic partnership signed by India and Malaysia in 2024.
Eric Low, a partner at Kuala Lumpur-based strategic advisory firm Densui, said closer ties with India should be viewed as an expansion of Malaysia's options rather than a move away from either China or the US.
“Strengthening Malaysia-India ties in this regard is not so much about shifting away from China or the United States, but rather, expanding Malaysia’s economic and strategic options and position, especially for the long term,” Low said, as noted by the SCMP.
