Malaysia Armed Forces

Defense Minister Ahmad Rithauddeen said Friday that Malaysia plans to sell 48 Skyhawk jet fighters now stored at an air base in Tucson, Ariz. Malaysia bought Skyhawks that had been mothballed by the U.S. armed forces about 10 years ago, refurbished 35 of them and is using them here. It stored 48 in Arizona for future use but now has decided to buy Tornado fighter planes from Britain, Rithauddeen said.

Defense Minister Ahmad Rithauddeen said Friday that Malaysia plans to sell 48 Skyhawk jet fighters now stored at an air base in Tucson, Ariz. Malaysia bought Skyhawks that had been mothballed by the U.S. armed forces about 10 years ago, refurbished 35 of them and is using them here. It stored 48 in Arizona for future use but now has decided to buy Tornado fighter planes from Britain, Rithauddeen said.

Charts describe some of the Spratly Islands, scattered from Borneo to Vietnam, as "almost awash," "dangerous ground," "position approximate" or "existence doubtful." Welcome to a geopolitical oddity and potential Asian flash point: Hundreds of atolls and islets in the South China Sea, most of them unpopulated, that are seen as a security threat because six nations claim some or all of them.