Thailand weighs accepting Chinese engine in submarine deal

[reader]

It seemed like a questionable military acquisition from the get go. Thailand was ready to spend 369 million USD for a submarine, built in China but powered with a German engine. It was odd decision Thai waters are relatively shallow for effective submarine operations. Nevertheless the Thai Navy has maintained a robust submarine division for years, complete with flag officers and ready staff despite the fact it hasn’t actually had a single submarine to put to sea for decades. If I recall correctly, the original deal was for two subs.

From Nikkei Asia

MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR, Asia regional correspondent

BANGKOK -- Thailand is considering a Chinese engine for a submarine it plans to purchase from China now that Germany has refused to supply an engine.

Thailand agreed in 2017 to purchase a submarine from China for $369 million, a deal that symbolized Thailand's deepening ties with China as a supplier of military assets. At the time, the then junta, headed by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, was taking steps toward balancing its strategic ties with China, having received a cold shoulder from the U.S. following Prayuth's coup in 2014.

But the plan ran aground last year after Germany objected to the use of its products for Chinese military exports. China's state-owned submarine producer alternatively offered a Chinese-made engine for the submarine, which Thailand initially resisted, apparently due to quality concerns.

According to sources at the Thai defense ministry, Thai navy officials and Chinese authorities will meet and discuss the submarine deal later this month.

In preparation for the Chinese substitute, Thailand has sought information from Pakistan about the quality of its Chinese-made submarine fleet, the defense ministry sources said. Pakistan has eight Yuan-class submarines that reportedly use engines comparable to what the Chinese are offering to Thailand.

The Thai navy has also deployed lawyers to comb through the deal's contract. They are "looking for loopholes in the law to make changes to move this deal forward," a military intelligence source told Nikkei Asia. "It is very sensitive because there can be trouble for the navy if the contract has been violated and so much money is being spent."

Security analysts say China has been lobbying the Thai navy to accept the Chinese submarine engine.

"Although there have been real improvements in Chinese submarine engines, the ones on offer are notoriously loud," said Zachary Abuza, a professor of Southeast Asian security at the Washington D.C.-based National War College. "[China is putting] a huge amount of diplomatic pressure on the Thai navy to accept the Chinese-made engine."

Besides Pakistan, China has supplied submarines to Bangladesh and Myanmar. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a think tank that tracks the global weapons trade, the submarines are part of China's expanding presence as a dominant player in Asia's military supply chain.

"China has a lot riding on this deal as a dependable weapons supplier," said a Bangkok-based diplomat from an Asian mission. "Reactions within the Thai navy's bureaucracy -- resisting the Chinese offer of a Chinese engine initially, then conditional acceptance, then more discussions -- speak of the pressure Thailand is under from Beijing to save its face."

Yet Thai military procurement from China has a history of price, too. "In our surveys of 1,800 Thai officers conducted [between] 2015 to 2017, we found that price was considered the most important reason for the attractiveness of Chinese military equipment," said Greg Raymond, a senior lecturer at the Strategic and Defense Studies Center at the Australian National University. Consequently, Thailand's military assets are now laden with Chinese-made heavy artillery, tanks and Jianghu-class frigates.