Why buying weapons from China could backfire
Forty-three years ago, after two tours of combat duty in South Vietnam, I was helping the Australian army procure weapons.
Suddenly Australia found itself unable to procure replacement parts for the 81mm mortar. Our US allies had provided these weapons free of charge to countries higher on its priority list, leaving insufficient spare parts to supply other countries, despite the fact that they could pay for them.
As a result, in Australia we had to strip 81mm mortars used in training and send the parts to South Vietnam to keep the mortars there in action.
Thailand is now considering the purchase of tanks and other military hardware from China to replace the US-made tanks and hardware currently in use by the Royal Thai Army.
When a country decides to purchase military hardware from manufacturing countries, it must choose carefully to ensure that, during the useful life of the weapons and other equipment, spare parts or replacements remain available.
The decision to purchase replacement tanks and other military hardware from China rather than the United States was influenced by US criticism of Thailand’s internal political affairs.
To retain friends and support, the US has to learn to refrain from interfering in or criticising the internal administration of those friends and supporters. During my three and a half years’ military service in South Vietnam, I witnessed frequent interference by the Americans in Vietnamese internal affairs. It seems to be an ingrained trait of American administrations in general.
With China’s almost belligerent exercise of hegemony over the South China Sea and major rivers flowing through Southeast Asia through extensive construction of dams, Thailand’s increasingly amiable attitude towards China could well sour in the future. Is it wise for Thailand to purchase military hardware from a country with which it might have an armed conflict, or even just a severing of relations in the future?
Barry Petersen
