Malaysia’s biennial Defence Services Asia (DSA) exhibition moved to a new and larger expo center in Kuala Lumpur this year. The move symbolized progress in making the Southeast Asian nation one of the primary defense venues in the region, but that promise is not matched by appropriate funding for new defense procurement by nations in the region.

One trend at this year’s DSA was a growing presence by defense firms from the People’s Republic of China. These participants present increasingly attractive options for regional customers, including lower prices than other suppliers. Even more interesting for some Southeast Asian nations is the fact that the boost in Chinese exhibitors was not only from large, state-run defense industrial conglomerates. Smaller companies were there, and not only those offering Kevlar body armor and body cameras. Chinese-designed UAVs that have low-level, tactical reconnaissance applications were on display. One private Chinese firm even offered a UAV jamming complex.

Ironically, in view of the regional concern about Chinese expansionism in the South China Sea, one of the biggest symbols of that expansion was on display at the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) stand. It was a model of the Chinese Navy aircraft carrier, the CV-16 Liaoning. This ship was originally built as the Varyag in Ukraine’s Nikolayev shipyard. It was sold to China in a deal that involved private-sector middlemen in Hong Kong. The buyer claimed the ship would be used as a floating hotel and casino complex in the former Portuguese enclave of Macau, but it instead ended up in the Dalian shipyard where it underwent a complete refit.

During DSA, the news that the second Chinese carrier, the Type 001A CV-17, would be launching within the week only served to highlight these concerns. And China has announced plans to build more carriers that will be fitted with catapults instead of ski ramps.

This might explain why the Russian-India BrahMos missile joint venture had a greatly expanded presence compared with previous DSA events. The BrahMos has an anti-ship mode as one of its main missions. Moreover, another “aircraft carrier killer” ASM was presented at the show. This was the Hsiung Feng 3 (HF-III), designed by Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) from the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. Moreover, HF-III was displayed in front of a floor-to-ceiling backdrop mural showing the missile hitting a ship that was an artist’s depiction of the Liaoning.

CSIST continues to improve the Hsiung Feng design and announced only last year that the missile’s range had been extended from 300 km to 400 km (220 nm). It is already operational with the ROC navy, but company officials indicated that it could be sold for export.