The Royal Thai Navy’s dream of acquiring its first submarine in over seven decades has been shattered once again.
Defense Minister Sutin Klungsang announced last Friday that the Thai government would suspend its purchase of a Chinese-built S26T diesel-electric attack submarine and accept the Navy’s proposal to spend the money on a frigate from China instead.
The decision came after the Chinese state-owned boatbuilder failed to procure a German-built MTU 396 diesel engine for the sub, as specified in the contract with the Thai Navy. Germany could not supply the engine due to a European Union embargo on arms exports to China that has been in place since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
The price of the frigate is 14 billion baht, about 500 million more than the submarine, according to the Thai defense minister. But this was the “best way out”, he said, explaining that…
