Marhalim Abas, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, covers Southeast Asian defense. He has worked as a journalist specializing in Southeast Asia defense and security since 1994, initially with the New Straits Times newspaper.
Australia has operationally deployed a P-8A maritime patroller for the first time to a Malaysian base for patrols in the South China Sea and north Indian Ocean.
Indonesia has ordered three more Type 209 diesel-electric submarines worth $1.02 billion from South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
