Military defers plan, will conduct more studies
THE MILITARY has put on hold the proposal by the Navy to purchase three submarines from China, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wonsuwan said yesterday, suggesting the Navy will conduct more studies on the worthiness of its propos
The Navy had announced early this month that it had decided to allocate Bt36 billion to buy three Yuan-class submarines from China to have the fleet for protection of maritime resources. The move met strong criticism from the public, as it came during an economic downturn and the projection of a maritime threat was not clear enough.
The Navy has to resolve the question that its investment in such heavy and expensive equipment is worthy enough in the context of the estimated Bt2 trillion maritime interests in Thai waters, Prawit said.
Prawit said the Navy should come up with clear details on the benefits and explain how suitable it is to go ahead with the purchase and how it will improve the strength and potential of the Armed Forces.
Prawit, who had earlier defended the proposal, said the military had suspended the proposal for now and will not seek Cabinet approval soon.
The Navy has made several attempts since the 1990s to get a fleet of submarines, as many neighbouring Asean countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam have their own fleet. Previous proposals to acquire submarines from Germany and South Korea were never approved by civilian governments.
The Navy had expected to succeed in pushing through the proposal of the current Cabinet, as both the prime minister and defence minister are former military commanders who attached importance to the military building up its strength.
Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Kraisorn Chansuwanich said earlier that purchasing the submarines from China is a rational option, as relations between the two countries are closer and Beijing has offered a reasonable price.
The Navy has studied the project comprehensively, he said. The decision to submit the proposal was made by 17 young-generation committee members from the Submarine Squadron, who arrived at the decision after examining similar devices from six countries, he said.
RELATED