style="text-transform: uppercase;">Kota Kinabalu: The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) base in Teluk Sepanggar near here is being upgraded to combat future threats and challenges. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the move was in line with the rapid technical developments and the needs of RMN to handle the current scenario in South China Sea and eastern Sabah waters.

"There is a need to add value to the commitment and discipline of submariners, thus the reason for an upgrade of the base.

Refit for the submarine is already given but we can only do that once the navy base is upgraded," he told a media conference at the base on Sunday.

His visit to the navy base was the last stop of his three-day working visit to Labuan and Sabah.

"The period in which we want to do the refit would be very difficult for us to say, but I have been told that the navy base is already being upgraded as scheduled," he said.

"Issue of safety is the key component, we can train our submariners and although they are an exceptional breed of people, they are only as good as the asset they are supposed to operate, thus the need to refit the asset every seven years," he said.

On the context of Islamic State (IS), Hishammuddin said Sabah is not seen as a transit point.

"The IS threat is different from terrorism we are familiar with, the normal counter terrorism measures involved al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiah and individuals like Mat Selamat and Nordin Mat Top.

"The IS is something new and the fact that we are still trying to put the pieces together is not something that only Malaysia is doing but also the super powers are grappling with, as seen in Iraq and Syria," he said.

He said the best way to describe the situation in Sabah is that it is under control and proactive measures are needed to ensure that the IS threat does not get serious.

"If you look at Sydney and Paris, we do not see a formal link-up like they used to be, which is why I say the phenomena is very different from what we are used to.

"It could be a link-up through the social media and that kind of link-up is new to the world at the moment. To say that there is a direct link-up, I do not see it formally being done, but the usage of social media by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Abu Sayyaf and MNLF declaring their support for IS could be considered as a formal link-up, if there is one," he said.

"IS threat is a worry for any Defence Minister, Home Minister and leader in the world and not only in Malaysia," he said.

Earlier in his speech, Hishammuddin assured his men that he will not let them down and that he will walk the talk.

"You will not walk this walk alone, I will be there every step of the way, but you must promise to keep up the good image of the navy force and be disciplined, be professional in what you want to do," he said.