Malaysia
Cluster Munition Ban Policy
Summary: Non-signatoryMalaysia adopted the convention in 2008 and has expressed interest in joining, but has not taken any steps towards accession. Malaysia voted in favor of a UN resolution on the convention in December 2015. It has participated in some of the convention’s Meetings of States Parties, most recently in 2012. Malaysia states that it does not produce cluster munitions and has never used them. It has not disclosed information on the types or quantities in its stockpile of cluster munitions.
Policy
Malaysia has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Malaysia has acknowledged the humanitarian rationale behind the ban convention and its interest in accession, but has not taken any steps to join.[1] In 2011 and 2012, it said it was undertaking stakeholder consultations on the convention and studying it.[2]
On 7 December 2015, Malaysia voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which urges states outside the convention to “join as soon as possible.”[3] Malaysia did not explain why it voted in support of the non-binding resolution that 140 countries voted for, including many non-signatories.
Malaysia fully participated in the Oslo Process that created the convention and expressed its support for a complete prohibition on cluster munitions without exceptions. It joined in the consensus adoption of the convention text at the end of the Dublin negotiations in May 2008, but did not attend the Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference in Oslo in December 2008.[4]
Malaysia was invited to, but did not attend the convention’s First Review Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia in September 2015. Malaysia participated as an observer in the first three Meetings of States Parties of the convention in 2011–2013 as well as intersessional meetings in Geneva in 2011 and 2014.
Malaysia voted in favor of a UNGA resolution in December 2015 that expressed outrage at the continued use of cluster munitions in Syria.[5] In June 2015, Malaysia voted in favor of a UN Security Council resolution expressing concern at evidence of cluster munition use by the government of Sudan and reiterating a call by the Secretary-General for Sudan to “immediately investigate the use of cluster munitions.”[6]
Malaysia is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling
In September 2011, a government official said that Malaysia does not use or produce cluster munitions.[7]
Officials have neither confirmed nor denied the existence of a stockpile of cluster munitions.[8] Malaysia possesses Brazilian-made ASTROS rocket launchers, but it is not known if this includes ammunition containing submunitions.[9] It is also reported to possess the Hydra-70 air-to-surface unguided rocket system, but it is not known if the ammunition types available to it include the M261 Multi-Purpose Submunition rocket.[10]
[1] Since 2010, government officials have stated that Malaysia is in the process of formulating its policy toward the convention. In May 2012, a Ministry of Defense spokesperson restated that Malaysia is in the process of formulating its policy toward the convention. Interview with Col. Shamsirudin Mohd Shariff, Principal Assistant Secretary, Policy Division, Ministry of Defense, in Geneva, 25 May 2012. In March 2010, another Ministry of Defense spokesperson told the Monitor that Malaysia was in the process of formulating its policy toward the convention. Interview with Col. Abdul Rahim Sebeli, Principal Assistant Secretary, Policy Division, Ministry of Defense, Kuala Lumpur, 12 March 2010.
[2] In September 2012, Malaysia informed States Parties that the government was “in consultation with relevant stakeholders with the view to studying the possibility of Malaysia acceding to the Convention.” This repeated a statement made in September 2011 that described the consultations as “a continuous and on-going process.” Both the 2011 and 2012 statements concluded, “we hope Malaysia will be able to join the Convention in the near future.” Statement of Malaysia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Third Meeting of States Parties, Oslo, 11 September 2012. See also statement by Mr. Raja Reza Raja Zaib Shah, Undersecretary for Multilateral Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Head of Malaysian Delegation, Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 14 September 2011.
[3] “Implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions,” UNGA Resolution 70/54, 7 December 2015.
[4] For details on Malaysia’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2010, see ICBL, Cluster Munition Monitor 2010 (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, October 2010), p. 227.
[5] “Situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution 70/234, 23 December 2015. Malaysia voted in favor of similar resolutions on 18 December 2014, 18 December 2013, and 15 May 2013.
[6] The resolution’s preamble, the Security Council “expressing concern at evidence, collected by AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), of two air-delivered cluster bombs near Kirigiyati, North Darfur, taking note that UNAMID disposed of them safely, and reiterating the Secretary-General's call on the Government of Sudan to immediately investigate the use of cluster munitions.” UN Security Council Resolution 2228 (2015), Renewing Mandate of Darfur Mission until 30 June 2016, 29 June 2015.
[7] CMC side meeting with delegates from Southeast Asia, Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 15 September 2011. Notes by the CMC.
[8] On 18 March 2009, Human Rights Watch (HRW) wrote to the Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs asking for clarification on whether or not Malaysia possessed a stockpile of cluster munitions. The letter noted that a news article in Berita Harian Online included an undated photo of a member of the Royal Malaysian Air Force with a CB-250K cluster bomb produced by Chile. The accompanying caption indicated that the soldier was offering an explanation of the weapon’s function and suggests the weapon is part of the air force’s arsenal. HRW did not receive a response. However, Malaysian officials told the Monitor in March 2010 that the government sent a reply stating that the cluster bomb in the photo was only a mock version. Interview with Ministry of Defense officials, Kuala Lumpur, 12 March 2010. One official noted that he had previously asked a CMC campaigner why Malaysia was not on the CMC list of countries that stockpile cluster munitions.
[9] Brazil, UN Register of Conventional Arms, Submission for Calendar Year 2002, 28 April 2004. Brazil reported the transfer of 12 launch units and the Arms Transfers Database of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute notes that the US$300 million deal was signed in 2007 and deliveries began in 2009; and Brazil, UN Register of Conventional Arms, Submission for Calendar Year 2009, 7 June 2010. In this report Brazil reports the transfer of one ASTROS launcher.
[10] Colin King, ed., Jane’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal 2007–2008, CD-edition, 15 January 2008 (Surrey, UK: Jane’s Information Group Limited, 2008).