Army chief defends purchase of Chinese personnel carriers
Commander-in-Chief Gen Chalermchai Sitthisart on Wednesday defended the Army’s decision to spend Bt2.3 billion on 34 Chinese VN-1 armoured personnel carriers, saying they’re cheaper than any offered by Western countries.
The Cabinet approved the purchase of the ZBL-09 VN-1 vehicles on Tuesday.
Chalermchai said an assistant Army chief would travel to China this month or next month to sign the contract.
He said the country’s economic woes make it appropriate to buy cheaper military hardware from China.
He acknowledged, though, that Thailand’s non-democratic mode of government makes it “more difficult” to purchase the hardware from the West.
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