FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Cabinet approves Bt2-bn deal for 10 tanks from China

Cabinet approves Bt2-bn deal for 10 tanks from China

THE CABINET yesterday approved the purchase of 10 main tanks from China for Bt2 billion to replace the World War II-era tanks bought from the United States 60 years ago, Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday.

The Army signed an agreement with China to procure the VT-4 tanks, which were produced by China North Industries Corporation last year, after a deal with a Ukraine manufacturer fell through. The VT-4s are also known as MBT-3000s.
This is the second batch of VT-4 tanks to be bought from China. Under the previous commander-in-chief General Teerachai Nakwanich, the Army purchased 28 VT-4 tanks while the current Army chief General Chalermchai Sitthisart bought additional tanks to form a cavalry battalion.
Another 11 vehicles will be delivered at a later date, said Prawit, the deputy prime minister in charge of security affairs. 
The Army has been looking to buy 49 tanks to replace the M-41s it bought from the US in 1957. The plan did not prove feasible over the past few years due to problems with the delivery of T-84 Oplot tanks from Ukraine. 
The military government last year decided to terminate the US$241-million (Bt8.3-billion) contract it signed with Ukraine’s state-owned Malyshev Factory for 49 T-84 ‘Oplot’ (Stronghold) MBTs in 2011, as the manufacturer failed to deliver on time.
Prawit said earlier that in the five years since the tank deal was signed, the Kharkiv-based Malyshev Factory provided the Army with about 20 T-84s, although the deadline was originally set for 2014.
The decision to purchase from China was due to price. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday said that price was one-third of that of military hardware from Western countries.
“If we buy from a Western country, we need to pay three times the price offered by a country in the East. So, from whom should we buy?” he said.
Prayut, himself a former Army chief, said that the quality of the |purchased weapons would have to meet the standards set by a military committee.
The Navy plan to buy submarines from China was not on the Cabinet agenda yesterday. 
In January, the Cabinet approved Bt13.5 billion to buy a Chinese-made submarine and was considering the purchase of three more.

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