By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE THAI NAVY has categorically dismissed hearsay that China has finally planned to build and sell a troublesome submarine to Indonesia in lieu of Thailand.
Assistant navy chief Adm Chonlathit Navanukroh confirmed over the weekend the Yuan-class S26T submarine currently manufactured by China’s Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co will undoubtedly be delivered to Thailand and not to Indonesia as otherwise rumoured online.
China would find no acceptable reason to turn from Thailand to Indonesia pertaining to the delayed construction and rescheduled delivery of the 12.4-billion-baht submarine though the boat’s engine for use aboard will be changed from a German-made MTU396 as earlier specified in the purchase contract to a Chinese-made CHD620, according to the assistant navy chief.
Adm Chonlathit confirmed the Chinese-made engine will live up to expectations of quality and be as seaworthy as the German engine, saying a team of Thai navy officers had already inspected and satisfactorily evaluated one. Not only the CHD620 engine but the S26T submarine has never been deployed by the Chinese or any world navies.
Germany and other European Union member states have launched trade embargo measures against China, ultimately freezing the sales of the MTU396 engine and other armaments to Asia’s superpower country.
Adm Chonlathit confirmed the CSOC construction of the S26T submarine for the Thai navy has been 64% complete for the time being and that it will be delivered to Sattahip naval base in early 2028, given a 1,217-day extension.
The Pheu Thai-led government is largely expected by the navy to approve sooner than later the extended schedules for the construction and delivery of the boat and change of its engine, according to the assistant navy chief.
However, navy chief Adm Adung Pan-iam has earlier expressed concern that the government might probably not give the final green light for the navy’s submarine procurement plan until he has retired at the end of the upcoming September.
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Top and Front Page: Photos of submarines. Credit: Thai Rath
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