China sells submarines to Thailand, but no engines

BANGKOK, KOMPAS.com – China sell submarines to Thailandbut not equipped with the engine as the most important part.

“What do we do with an engineless submarine? Why should we buy it?” Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said Monday (4/4/2022) quoted from Thaiger.

“If the deal can’t be fulfilled, we have to think about what to do. Isn’t that how we solve problems?”

Also read: US nuclear-powered submarine hits underwater mountain in South China Sea

PM Prayuth’s comments were in response to reports that the German manufacturer refused to supply the MTU396 diesel engine China needed for its class submarines S26T Yuan which is currently under construction for the Royal Thai Naval, according to reports Bangkok Post.

Prayut, who is also defense minister, said he had informed the Thai Navy to finalize the deal.

However, if China does not want to budge, then Thailand will cancel the deal. He stressed that the cancellation would not affect Thailand-China relations.

As of Saturday (2/4/2022), the submarine procurement deal had not changed, according to naval commander Admiral Somprasong Nilsamai, who said China must abide by the contract agreement.

The terms of the deal stipulate that Germany’s MTU will supply the submarine’s engines.

However, the company was barred from selling submarine engines because of the German embargo on military equipment, imposed after World War II.

The Thai Navy is allegedly not aware of this provision.

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