By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE PHEU THAI-LED GOVERNMENT was today (Jan.4) encouraged to cancel the navy’s Chinese submarine purchase deal since the Chinese shipbuilder has already failed to deliver it.
During a second day of floor debate on the 2024 budget bill, Move Forward MP Chayapon Sathorndee suggested Defence Minister Suthin Khlangsang to entirely scrap the contract earlier signed between the Thai navy and China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co. for the 12.4 billion baht purchase of a Yuan-class S26T submarine for which a German-made MTU396 engine will be unavailable to install aboard.
Chayapon advised the Chinese submarine purchase deal be cancelled by the Thai navy once and for all since the troublesome boat’s delivery schedule has already been overdue for three months now.
The Chinese government had earlier encouraged the Thai navy to accept a Chinese-made CHD620 engine in place of the unavailable German-made engine for use with the Chinese-built submarine but commanding admirals have remained non-committal so far.
Suthin has earlier said he agrees to the navy’s sustained plan to procure submarines, either from China or elsewhere, despite the failure on the part of the Chinese shipbuilding firm and a seven billion baht down payment earlier made by the prospective buyer of the country’s otherwise first submarine in six decades.
Navy chief Adm.Udong Pan-iam has earlier said the Office of the Attorney-General was obliged to respond by the end of last month as to whether the submarine purchase contract could be finally scrapped so that the navy could possibly look to procure one from any manufacturing country other than China.
However, Adm. Adung confirmed that the Chinese-made CHD620 engine is a licensed derivative of the German-made MTU396 engine and that it has already been tested by the Chinese shipbuilding firm.
The navy has long planned to deploy a fleet of three submarines, essentially viewed as one of its “strategic” weapon systems, beginning with the procurement of the trouble-plagued S26T submarine for which the 12.4 billion baht purchase contract had been earlier signed and to be followed by another two submarines of the same type for a combined price of about 25 billion baht.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Defence Minister Suthin Khlangsang with a Chinese-built S26T submarine in the background. Photo: Matichon
Front Page: A submarine. Photo: Thai Rath
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