Mahathir’s remarks against EU suggest Pakistan’s J-17 may become Malaysia’s choice

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said his country may look elsewhere to upgrade its air force fleet instead of purchasing France’s Rafael jet or Eurofighter Typhoon, just a day after he was briefed on Pakistan’s multi-role J-17 Thunder before leaving Islamabad after a three-day visit to the South Asian country.

According to AFP, Malaysia is planning retaliation against an EU proposal to cut palm oil use in biofuels at the World Trade Organization.

Malaysia is the largest palm oil producer after Indonesia.

“If they keep on taking action against us, we will think of buying airplanes from China or any other country,” Bernama news agency quoted the prime minister saying.

During Mohadm’s visit,Pakistan Foreign Minister Asad Umar said Malaysia has shown interest in purchasing JF-17 Thunder aircraft.

Mahathir Mohamad was guest of honor at the Pakistan Day Military Parade that was held in Islamabad on March 23.

Minutes before leaving the country, TV footage showed Pakistan Air Force officer briefing the guest about JF-17 Thunder at the Nur Khan Airbase.

Jointly developed by Pakistan and China, JF-17 is a lightweight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft which, according to some reports, was involved in shooting down two Indian aircraft over Kahsmir last month as the tensions between the two nuclear armed nations spiked following a suicide bombing in Pulwama.