The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ; Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defence operations. RMN's area of operation consists of 603,210 square kilometers covering the country's coastal areas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). RMN also bears the responsibility of controlling the country's main Sea Lines of Communications (SLOC) such as the Straits of Malacca and the Straits of Singapore and also monitors national interests in areas with overlapping claims such as in Spratly.
History Straits Settlement Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve The Royal Malaysian Navy can trace its roots to the formation of the Straits Settlement Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (SSRNVR) in Singapore on 27 April 1934 by the British colonial government in Singapore. The SSRNVR was formed to assist the Royal Navy in the defence of Singapore, upon which the defence of the Malay Peninsula was based. Also behind its formation were political developments in Asia, particularly the rise of a Japan that was increasingly assertive in Asia. In 1938, the SSRNVR was expanded with a branch in Penang. On 18 January 1935, the British Admiralty presented Singapore with an , , to serve as the Reserve's Headquarters and drill ship. It was berthed at the Telok Ayer Basin. HMS Laburnum was sunk in February 1942, prior to the capitulation of Singapore at the beginning of Second World War activities in the Pacific.
With the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe, the SSRNVR increased the recruitment of mainly indigenous personnel into the force, to beef up local defences as Royal Navy resources were required in Europe. Members of the SSRNVR were called up to active duty and the force was augmented by members of the Royal Navy Malay Section. This formed the basis of the navy in Malaya, called the Malay Navy, manned by indigenous Malay personnel. (Similarly, the Malays were recruited into the fledgling Malay Regiment formed in 1936). The Malay Navy had a strength of 400 men who received their training at HMS Pelandok, the Royal Navy training establishment in Malaya. Recruitment was increased and in 1941 at the outbreak of the war in Asia, the Malay Navy had a strength of 1,450 men. Throughout the Second World War, the Malay Navy served with the Allied Forces in the Indian and Pacific theatre of operations. When the war ended with the Japanese Surrender in 1945, only 600 personnel of the Malay Navy reported for muster. Post war economic constraints saw the disbandment of the Malay Navy in 1947.
After world war II – Formation of the Malayan Naval Force
The Malay Navy was reactivated on 24 December 1948 at the outbreak of the Malayan Emergency, the communist-inspired insurgent war against the British colonial government. The Malayan Naval Force (MNF) regulation was gazetted on 4 March 1949 by the colonial authorities and was based at an ex-Royal Air Force radio base station in Woodlands, Singapore. The base was called the 'MNF Barracks' but was later renamed HMS Malaya. The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) was reconstituted as a joint force comprising the Singapore Division and the Federation Division, by an Ordinance passed in Singapore in 1952. The main mission of the Malayan Naval Force (MNF) was coastal patrols to stop the communists receiving supplies from the sea. In addition, the Force was tasked with guarding the approaches to Singapore and other ports. The MNF was equipped with a , HMS Test, which was used as a training ship. By 1950, the MNF fleet had expanded to include the ex-Japanese minelayer HMS Laburnum, Landing Craft Tank (LCT) HMS Pelandok ("Mousedeer"), motor fishing vessel HMS Panglima ("Marshal"), torpedo recovery vessel HMS Simbang and several seaward defence motor launches (SDML). In August 1952, Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the title "Royal Malayan Navy" on the Malayan Naval Force in recognition of its sterling service in action during the Malayan Emergency.
Independence
On 12 July 1958, soon after attaining its independence on 31 August 1957, the Federation of Malaya negotiated with the British government to transfer British naval assets to the newly formed Royal Malayan Navy. With the hoisting of the Federation naval ensign – the White Ensign modified by the substituting the Union Flag with the Federation flag in the canton – the Royal Malayan Navy became responsible for Malaya's maritime self-defence. The "Royal" in Royal Malayan Navy was now in reference to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who became the Supreme Commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces. All ships, facilities and personnel serving in the Royal Malayan Navy were inherited by the Malayan government. The new force had an operational and training base at HMMS Malaya and a small coastal fleet of one LCT, one coastal minelayer, six s and seven Ton-class minesweeper (the ex-RN 200th Patrol Squadron) on transfer from the Royal Navy.
On 16 September 1963, the naval force was renamed the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), following the formation of Malaysia. Eighteen Kris-class were ordered from Vosper and formed the mainstay of the navy for years to come. These boats were driven by Maybach diesels and capable of . The Kris patrol boats were confined to coastal patrols and had short endurance. An offensive capability was acquired with the purchase of four s also known as Perkasa-class patrol boats in RMN service. The Perkasa patrol boats were built for the RMN by Vosper Thorneycroft in 1967, powered by three Rolls-Royce Marine Proteus gas turbines as the main power plant with two diesel auxiliary engines for cruising and manoeuvring. These were armed with four torpedoes, one Bofors 40 mm gun forward and one 20 mm cannon aft. They had a maximum speed of and was driven by triple propellers. The Royal Navy transferred the to the RMN in 1964 and renamed KD (Kapal Di-Raja, "His Majesty's Ship") Hang Tuah. In 1965, during the Indonesian confrontation, Hang Tuah took over guardship duties off Tawau from . The ship served as the flagship of the RMN until it was decommissioned in the 1970s and scrapped. The RMN also used some of the decommissioned ship as a part of navy monument. This shop can be toured at Bandar Hilir, Melaka or at the Lumut Naval Base.
Malaysianisation
Following the end of Indonesian confrontation in 1966, Tunku Abdul Rahman and his colleagues decided to Malaysianise the top posts in the navy and air force. They offered these posts to two senior Malaysian army generals, who declined for two main reasons. First they felt that they were not professionally qualified and second because they did not want to jeopardise their own careers in the army. Tunku and his colleagues then decided that they would select two officers, one from the navy and one from the air force, and appoint them chiefs of their respective services. They were fully aware of Rear Admiral Datuk K. Thanabalasingam's age —he was 31 years old and a bachelor- but decided to appoint him and take the risk. Under Thanabalasingam and with Tunku Abdul Rahman's foresight and will, they were responsible for initiating the gradual transformation of the navy from a coastal navy (brown water force) to a sea-going navy (green water navy).
1970s onwards In 1977, the RMN acquired the frigate HMS Mermaid from the Royal Navy to replace the decommissioned Hang Tuah. The ship was also named , but retained HMS Mermaids pennant number of F76. Hang Tuah is a 2,300 standard ton light patrol frigate armed with twin 102 mm guns. Hang Tuah gradually reverted to a training role and continues in that role for the RMN. (ex-Hang Jebat) (F24) joined the RMN in 1972. The 2,300-ton ship was a one-off Yarrow light frigate design for the RMN. The ship was originally named Hang Jebat but renamed after initial propulsion problems during pre-commissioning trials. It was the first Malaysian naval vessel equipped with a missile (Seacat) system. Rahmat was decommissioned in 2004.
The RMN purchased several types of missile boats in the 1970s and 1980s. These were four Perdana-class missile boats purchased from France and four Handalan-class missile boats purchased from Sweden. Both classes were armed with the Exocet MM38 missiles. The RMN also acquired two 1,100-ton Musytari-class offshore patrol vessels of Korean design. Sealift requirements were met by the purchases of several ex-United States Navy World War II-era LSTs. KD Sri Langkawi (A1500), ex-, KD Sri Banggi (A1501), ex- and KD Rajah Jarom (A1502), ex-, were replaced by KD Sri Indera Pura (1505), the LST ex-. Additional sealift capability is provided by two 4,300-ton, 100-metre support ships, KD Sri Indera Sakti (1503) and KD Mahawangsa (1504). Minehunting capabilities are provided by four s. These are Italian-built ships based on the Lerici-class but displacing 610 tons. Hydrographic duties are handled by KD Perantau and KD Mutiara. A Naval Air Wing was also founded with the purchase of ex-Royal Navy Westland Wasps. Some ships of the RMN that have been decommissioned was transferred to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). MMEA had received more than 20 vessels from the RMN fleet to equip its enforcement operations from 2000s onwards.
Modernisation
The modernisation of the RMN began in the late 1980s. Four s were purchased from Italy. These compact ships were originally built for Iraq, but were not delivered due to international sanctions put in place against Iraq. A prominent addition to the fleet were two s. Based on the Yarrow F2000 design, the two 2,300-ton frigates are armed with Exocet MM40 II SSM and the Sea Wolf VLS point defence SAM system with accommodation for one Westland Super Lynx helicopter. Malaysia had planned to add new batch of Lekiu frigates but this was cancelled in August 2009. Complementing the two Lekiu frigates are two German-built Kasturi-class corvettes which were delivered in the early 1980s. Two Scorpène-class submarines were ordered by the RMN on 5 June 2002 under a €1.04 billion (about RM4.78 billion) contract to form the new submarine force. RMN also purchased six s and a batch of Littoral Mission Ships namely and Ada-class corvette to strengthen the fleet. In addition, the construction of new modern also will make the RMN as a formidable power in the region.
Anti-piracy efforts
The Royal Malaysian Navy has been patrolling the Gulf of Aden to thwart piracy since 2009. In January 2011, the navy foiled a hijacking attempt against the Malaysian-flagged chemical tanker MT Bunga Laurel carrying lubricating oil and ethylene dichloride. The navy ship KA Bunga Mas 5 responded after receiving a distress signal from the ship. A Fennec attack helicopter was used to pin down the pirate mothership as commandos boarded the tanker. The commandos injured three pirates in the battle to re-take the ship. 23 sailors were rescued and seven Somali pirates were detained. According to an 11 February 2011 online breaking news update by CNN's Brad Lendon, the seven Somalis, including three boys under 15 years old, could face the death penalty if convicted on charges of firing on Malaysian armed forces- navy commandos- while attempting to hijack the ship. The seven was sentenced for four to seven years in prison by Malaysian High Court on 2 September 2013. The ship was rescued from the coast of Oman.
The Royal Malaysian Navy was also involved in the operation to secure the release of that was hijacked in 2015 by a group of Indonesian pirates. All of the pirates were captured with the help of Vietnam Border Guard (VNBG), Vietnam Coast Guard (VNCG), Royal Australian Air Force and the Indonesian Navy.
Sulu militants intrusion on Sabah