Thailand may withdraw from a contract for the purchase of three Chinese diesel submarines S26T after Germany refused to sell submarine engines to China, Thai Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Tuesday
BANGKOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2022) Thailand may withdraw from a contract for the purchase of three Chinese diesel submarines S26T after Germany refused to sell submarine engines to China, Thai Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Tuesday.
Last year, German company MTU was banned from selling its diesel engines to China due to an embargo on the export of weapons and components for weapon systems. Last week, China proposed replacing German-made engines with Chinese engines with similar characteristics under a separate term to the contract, but the Thai navy decided to stick to the original contract.
"What do we do with a submarine with no engines? Why should we purchase it? If the agreement cannot be fulfilled, we have to figure out what to do," Chan-o-cha told reporters.
Chan-o-cha said he had instructed the navy command to do everything possible to make the deal happen, but stressed that China is expected to fulfill the terms of agreement in full. This situation will not affect political and economic relations between Thailand and China, Chan-o-cha added.
The $1 billion Thai-Chinese deal was concluded in 2017. Thailand made the first payment of $20.9 million right away and agreed to pay the remaining $383 for the first submarine within seven years. The procurement of the other two submarines was delayed for four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
