Thailand backs down from submarine deal with China, to procure new frigate instead

 

A scale model of a S26 Yuan-class submarine. Photo c/o AFP.

The Thai Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it will not continue its procurement of a Chinese-made S26T Yuan-class attack submarine for the Royal Thai Navy (RTN), and will change the order to a new frigate instead.

In a surpassing announcement, Thai Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang announced the change of plan was due to China’s inability to provide the submarine with a German-made MTU diesel engine after the German government rejected the export of the engine for use on Chinese-made military hardware.

China tried to persuade Thailand  to use the Chinese-made CHD620 diesel engines instead, with the Royal Thai Navy agreeing to the changes. But the Thai government insisted on sticking to German-made MTU396 diesel engines, rejecting the RTN’s agreement on China’s proposal.

Instead, the RTN was asked to propose other option, which includes the procurement of a new frigate for anti-submarine warfare operations worth THB 17 billion (US$465 million), or new offshore patrol vessels.

Ultimately the Thai Government accepted the proposal for a new ASW frigate, which is actually slightly more expensive than the original submarine acquisition which was worth THB 13.5 billion (US$379 million). 

New Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin already discussed the revised option last week to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang, with the Chinese side agreeing to the changes based on Thailand’s proposal despite the S26T submarine ordered by Thailand already partially built by its shipbuilder China Shipbuilding & Offshore International.

Min. Sutin said that the submarine project is not scrapped, but will be shelved for a period and the country is ready to proceed. No timeline has been announced though on how long will it take to bringing back the submarine acquisition.

[1] Bangkok Post

[2] Thai PBS World