(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) – Malaysia’s Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, is currently in Beijing for his inaugural four-day working visit to China.

He is scheduled to attend the 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a high-level Asia-Pacific defence and security dialogue, running from 17 to 19 September.

“I am scheduled to deliver Malaysia’s position and views on the theme of ‘Strategic Mutual Trust and Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region’ during the second plenary session on Thursday,” he stated in a Facebook posting.

Beyond the forum, the Defence Minister will hold bilateral meetings with senior Chinese leaders, including Defence Minister Admiral Dong Jun, Central Military Commission Equipment Development Department Minister General Xu Xueqiang, and Veterans Affairs Minister Pei Jinjia.

He will also meet Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Tea Seiha, who is likewise attending the Xiangshan Forum.

On the opening day of his visit, Mohamed Khaled paid a courtesy call on Chen Ximing, Chairman of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), at the company’s Beijing headquarters.

CASIC is a major state-owned defence conglomerate and one of China’s leading players in rocket, missile, air defence, satellite, and space technologies.

“This meeting opens avenues for strengthening defence industrial cooperation between the two countries, with potential benefits for Malaysia’s defence ecosystem,” Mohamed Khaled noted.

Following that engagement, the Malaysian delegation toured China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation (CPMIEC), a CASIC subsidiary and one of China’s most prominent arms trading firms.

“The visit enabled Malaysia’s Defence Ministry and Armed Forces delegation to directly assess CPMIEC’s range of products and technologies, including air defence and missile systems as well as space-related capabilities,” Mohamed Khaled added.

He stressed that such discussions open the door to future industrial cooperation, including joint development or local assembly of specific systems.

The initiative, he underlined, is consistent with Malaysia’s long-term defence industrial agenda under which the sector is seen as both a strategic and economic multiplier.

READ: QW-19: Malaysia’s Next-Generation Shield Against Drones, Helicopters and Low-Altitude Air Threats

CPMIEC and Medium-Range Air Defence

CPMIEC, a state-owned defence exporter, specializes in precision-guided weapons, air defence systems, and missile technology.

Under Malaysia’s upcoming 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13), the Armed Forces are expected to pursue a Medium-Range Air Defence (MERAD) acquisition, making CPMIEC’s portfolio of MR-SAMs particularly relevant.

China’s catalogue covers a spectrum of MR-SAM solutions designed to fill the gap between point defence systems (SHORAD) and long-range strategic defences.

At the core is the KS-1A / HQ-12 family, vehicle-mounted MR-SAMs paired with multifunction H-200/HT-233 radars and semi-active/command guidance, offering engagement ranges of 50–60 km.

Building upon that lineage, China developed the HQ-22, with the export variant FK-3 extending to around 100 km (the domestic model is longer-ranged).

The FK-3 has already entered combat service, with Serbia becoming its first European operator, underscoring the system’s appeal as a mid-tier, cost-effective alternative to Western MR-SAMs.

Alongside this track, CPMIEC markets the LY-80 (HQ-16), a canisterised, cold-launched MR-SAM derived from the naval HHQ-16, optimized for low-to-medium altitude intercepts with a 40–70 km range, in service with Pakistan.

Though categorized as “long-range,” the FD-2000 (export HQ-9) is relevant within the medium-range bracket, offering layered integration and reflecting CPMIEC’s strategy of blurring range categories for modular air defence architectures.

All of these families share common architecture: phased-array search/engagement radars, mobile C2 nodes, 4×4 to 8×8 TELs, and reload vehicles, enabling “shoot-and-scoot” survivability against SEAD/DEAD missions.

Guidance solutions are pragmatic, largely semi-active radar homing with radio-command updates, balancing cost with effectiveness, while supported by modern Chinese radar and ECCM technologies to counter heavy electronic warfare.

Operationally, KS-1A/HQ-12 provides affordable area defence for bases and ports; LY-80/HQ-16 adds dense low-altitude coverage against cruise missiles and UAVs; and FK-3/HQ-22 expands protection radius, enabling fewer batteries to cover larger areas.

For international buyers, CPMIEC’s packages are attractive due to competitive acquisition and lifecycle costs, technology transfer options, and delivery schedules, often bundled with IBIS/LD search radars and Chinese-style IADS-compatible C2 systems.

While Western systems may excel in seeker sophistication and ballistic missile defence, CPMIEC’s MR-SAMs offer “good-enough” performance—multi-target capability, canisterized launch, networked radars—at a politically accessible price point.

In Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, where UAV and cruise missile inventories are rising alongside maritime disputes, cost-effective MR-SAMs that can protect bases and coastal infrastructure are increasingly attractive, and CPMIEC is positioning itself as a supplier of choice.

READ: China’s JL-1 Air-Launched Ballistic Missile (ALBM): The Game-Changer That Completes Beijing’s Nuclear Triad

YJ-12E: China’s Supersonic “Carrier-Killer” for Export

In one photo shared on Mohamed Khaled’s Facebook, the minister was also briefed on the YJ-12E, the export variant of China’s YJ-12 supersonic air-launched cruise missile (ALCM).

The YJ-12E represents a major step in Beijing’s push to reshape global naval strike dynamics.

Derived from the PLA Navy and Air Force’s YJ-12, the system gives foreign customers access to a supersonic standoff weapon once reserved for major naval powers.

The YJ-12E is designed to strike high-value surface warships such as destroyers, amphibious assault ships, and aircraft carriers.

Powered by a solid rocket booster and ramjet engine, it cruises at Mach 2 at low altitude and accelerates to Mach 3+ at high altitude, delivering a near-uninterceptable terminal profile.

For export, its range is capped at ~290 km to comply with MTCR guidelines, though the domestic variant reportedly exceeds 400 km, putting U.S. carrier strike groups and regional fleets at severe risk.

Guidance combines INS, BeiDou satellite updates, and active radar homing, ensuring precision even in heavy electronic warfare environments.

The missile carries a 200–250 kg warhead, either high explosive or semi-armor piercing, capable of crippling or sinking major warships with a single hit, especially in salvo launches.

Doctrinally, the YJ-12E is intended as a “carrier-killer,” forming the backbone of anti-surface warfare (ASuW) strategies in contested maritime zones.

Launched from long-range bombers such as the H-6K, the missile enables Beijing to project maritime strike hundreds of kilometers beyond its coastline while remaining under the umbrella of Chinese SAM coverage.

For the export market, compatibility with fighters such as the JF-17 Block III makes the YJ-12E attractive to mid-tier air forces seeking standoff strike capability against superior naval adversaries.

Most critically, its supersonic terminal velocity compresses adversary reaction times, challenging even advanced systems like the U.S. Navy’s Aegis, France’s PAAMS (SAMP/T), or modern CIWS defences.

The YJ-12E’s introduction into the export catalogue highlights China’s ambition to dominate the mid-tier precision-strike market with affordable yet highly disruptive systems. – DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA