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PUBLISHED: 31 Mar 2024 at 04: 00
Seoul: According to Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang, discussions between China and the Royal Thai Navy regarding the purchase of two offshore patrol vessels ( OPVs ) or a frigate will start this week in line with the RTN’s updated submarine procurement plan.
Recently, the Royal Thai Navy had sought to acquire a Foreign- made website for a underwater, but the strategy was scrapped. The military is attempting to either purchase Earnings or a ship from Beijing.
During Mr. Sutin’s Tuesday visit to China, a tentative agreement was reached.
The initial agreement, signed in 2017, approved the purchasing of Foreign S26T Yuan- course submarines.
The army intended to match the ship with a diesel engine made in Germany. But, Germany eventually made it abundantly clear that it forbids the incorporation of such a engine into Chinese military equipment.
Therefore, Beijing proposed a Foreign- made motor as an alternative, but it did never materialise.
A S26T Yuan- group submarine, which was already paid for, was actually due to be delivered to Thailand next September, but the crisis postponed its distribution until second month.
Both sides agreed to do more studies and prepare to examine the revised agreement to either get OPVs or a warship from Beijing at the conclusion of last week’s meeting in China, according to Mr. Sutin’s statement from yesterday.
China offered Thailand the more than 7 billion baht now paid for the underwater sourcing plan, which he said would cost between 5 and 6 billion baht more.
He claimed that paying the extra sum in this new agreement may be preferable to losing 7 billion baht for everything.
In the upcoming discussions, he said, the actual costs and OPV designs will be discussed.
Thailand planned to purchase two ships from China at the time, spending 22 billion bass overall.
The China Shipbuilding &, Offshore International Co, which was apparently halfway through the development of the first underwater, was concerned about the change.