Prawit explains plans to purchase Army equipment

By THE NATION

 

Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan

 

Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan finally stood up in Parliament to explain his plans to acquire equipment for the Royal Armed Forces.

 

As part of the government’s policy statement on Friday, Prawit said the budget proposed by the Defence Ministry would cover the purchase of equipment for the Army, Navy and the Air Force, adding that the equipment the Royal Armed Forces currently has is more than 20 years old. 

 

Deputy Defense Minister Gen Chaichan Changmongkol added that countries usually allocate 2 per cent of the GDP for the acquisition of army equipment. However, after the 1997 financial crisis, the funds allocated for the Army was less than 1.1 per cent of the GDP. Hence, he said, a lot of the equipment now required maintenance. 

 

Meanwhile, the deputy defence minister explained separately that the purchase of submarines was part of the Navy’s strategy to protect Thailand’s seas, adding that the acquisition process will take six years to complete.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30373748

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand  2019-07-27

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The armed forces need to purchase more modern equipment, and i am needing a top up in my accounts would have been a more honest comment.

Think he want to buy more expensive watches. What's the going commission rate for military hardware these days?

Twenty years old and ne'er a shot fired, a berm stormed, a wall breached nor a river crossed.

 

And don't get me started on the maintenance comment. You can get a whole lot of WD-40 for 1.1% of GDP.

At what point should a person be content with the unearned wealth they can accumulate at the nation they purport to love's expense?

Obviously rhetorical as at 74 years old and millions of usd in his grubby hands he still wants more.

 

To say that this man is beneath contempt is an understatement 

6 years! 

 

A hell of a long wait 

 

As soon as the navy submerges them in the Gulf of Thailand they will be obsolete and need to order new ones!

Or they will be obsolete even before they get them so will be second hand.

45 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Prawit explains plans to purchase Army equipment

First I check a list of suppliers and their commissions; then I buy the stuff with the best deal for me.  It doesn't matter that the seas around Thailand are too shallow to safely accommodate subs, they'll never be used anyway.

Just now, mikebell said:

First I check a list of suppliers and their commissions; then I buy the stuff with the best deal for me.  It doesn't matter that the seas around Thailand are too shallow to safely accommodate subs, they'll never be used anyway.

Don't forget they already built the sub base.  

12 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Don't forget they already built the sub base.  

I didn't know anyone in the navy had a Meccano kit?

Prawit explains plans to purchase Army equipment

 

Many new snouts to feed...time to refill the trough.

 

 

 

 

 

If it was not so sad for the economy and the majority of the Thai people, this would be quite funny.

Yes general sod the poor and school kids dinners we need guns to fight that invisible war???? 

Since there are no external threats to Thailand, Thai people should be very concerned with these purchases!

2 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

Since there are no external threats to Thailand, Thai people should be very concerned with these purchases!

Some countries have walls, others submarines.  Power corrupts never going to change.  Thailand has threats to the Mekong - water- subs.  LIft em in with a crane set them sit there.  We can get the som tom in by helicopter. 

7 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Yes general sod the poor and school kids dinners we need guns to fight that invisible war???? 

Don't forget that with this crowd the only shots they fire are into peoples backs on Sukhumvit. Nurses in the Wat was a particular target for the oh so brave Thai army. No they only want more equipment for 2 reasons. 1) To line their pockets further and 2) Protect certain elements of the people against what will surely come eventually

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

Twenty years old and ne'er a shot fired, a berm stormed, a wall breached nor a river crossed.

 

And don't get me started on the maintenance comment. You can get a whole lot of WD-40 for 1.1% of GDP.

Having a military that doesn't engage in combat is considered a success by many, especially those who prefer NOT to invade your neighbours. Perhaps you should compare Thailand's defence spending with your own country, or even the USA.

https://www.thenation.com/article/tom-dispatch-america-defense-budget-bigger-than-you-think/

 

BTW the minimalist tool kit is WD-40 AND duct tape

18 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

Since there are no external threats to Thailand, Thai people should be very concerned with these purchases!

Don't forget there's those pesky foreign tourists.

Deleted. Better to bite my lip.

19 minutes ago, Ozman52 said:

Having a military that doesn't engage in combat is considered a success by many, especially those who prefer NOT to invade your neighbours. Perhaps you should compare Thailand's defence spending with your own country, or even the USA.

https://www.thenation.com/article/tom-dispatch-america-defense-budget-bigger-than-you-think/

 

BTW the minimalist tool kit is WD-40 AND duct tape

Apparently 80% of the time given over to combat training within the RTA is focused on camouflage technology training, hiding to you and me, and developing physical adeptness in running backwards.????

Once the Chinese have their airport and seaport bases established in Cambo it wont matter a jot anyway.

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

Twenty years old and ne'er a shot fired, a berm stormed, a wall breached nor a river crossed.

 

And don't get me started on the maintenance comment. You can get a whole lot of WD-40 for 1.1% of GDP.

Many posters miss the whole point of PM and other top ranking generals and company bosses when it come to acquiring big ticket items whether its needed or not, in most cases, it is because this is what expected from the elected individual to do as a customary recuperation and in kind, we have elected/appointed you now let's get down to business and put in the order so we both can make money which is the bottom line of most if not all high position jobs... and this is only one of the reasons why they buy stuff the company/country doesn't seems to need, this is the essence of politics and business that keeps the world turning...

2 hours ago, colinneil said:

The armed forces need to purchase more modern equipment, and i am needing a top up in my accounts would have been a more honest comment.

Colin, not a matter of "needing a top up". I think it's more like "I want a top up".

Probably will need it to protect the already insanely rich sometime in the future

More and more people are complaining so its probably best to get ready to shoot them ...again 

i think we can expect baht to drop in value once all the contracts has been signed. these big ticket purchases are the only rational reason to not devalue currency

Obvious what is important to this regime..

Well economists did say government needs to increase spending in order to boost the economy.

 

government listened and is spending ????

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

How would Thailand devalue the currency?  Remember dollar peg stopped in 1997.  

Budget deficit should assist in value dropping . Even more when struggling to repay the loans 

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

he said, a lot of the equipment now required maintenance. 

surely  fake  news.........maintenance ? in  Thailand?

37 minutes ago, BestB said:

Well economists did say government needs to increase spending in order to boost the economy.

 

government listened and is spending ????

They will have to laundry their ill-gotten money back into the local system and spend them. Maybe they are already doing that civic duty to help the economy. ????

I’m sure all the people who have had to take a 300 baht per day off work to queue for an entire day to see a doctor in their local hospital will feel much better in the knowledge that fatso & co are rolling in cash from unnecessary military hardware purchase kickbacks..... I hope the opposition in the new parliament rips into these scoundrels.... check out how much wealth Prayut’s children seem to have mysteriously acquired, as for Prawit the watches are nothing compared to all the land, resorts etc he has, all not legally possible on military income.