"We don`t have a cooperation with Malaysia yet in the production of carbine M4 rifles," the minister said here on Sunday.
He made the remark when he attended the welcoming ceremony of the MV Sinar Kudus liberation team greeted by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Carbine M4 rifles were designed by a United States firm to replace its M16 rifles since 2010. Malaysia has secured a license to produce the rifles.
Malaysian Defense Minister Dato Seri Ahmad Zaid bin Hamidi has earlier said that he would team up with Indonesia and Thailand to produce the arms.
"Malaysia has decided to replace its M16s with M4s," Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said here last Friday.
Hamidi said that Malaysia had started to produce M4 carbine rifles and hoped to produce 20,000 carbine M4 barrels this year.
The offer of cooperation in the production of M4s would serve as the start of defense industry cooperation among ASEAN nations.
The production of M4s in Malaysia reached 100,000 units while in Thailand 300,000 units. It is estimated that Indonesia needs more of these arms than Thailand.
All ASEAN member countries would need a total of one million M4 rifles to replace their M16s.(*)
(A014/H-NG/S012)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
