Cabinet set to mull China submarine deal 
By The Nation

 

File photo: Prawit

 

BANGKOK: -- The Cabinet is expected to discuss on Tuesday the Bt18 billion submarine-purchasing deal with China, given that the first Bt800-million instalment of the money is due by the end of this month.

 

It is expected that the agenda item at the weekly Cabinet meeting will be proposed by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, although that cannot be confirmed.

 

Last week, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said the deal was settled in a “buy-two-get-three” way, plus services after the purchase, meaning the government would pay for two submarines and get the third one as “a free gift”. 

 

The submarines should be worth the money spent on them, he said.

 

The details of the first instalment of the Yuan Class S26 T submarine is expected to be concluded on Tuesday, as the Budget Bureau announced that any proposal for a deal not exceeding Bt1 billion needs to be put before the Cabinet by this month.

 

The purchase, hyped up since the military-installed government took power in 2014, has been carried out amid criticism about the necessity of sending so much money given that Thailand has no maritime security threats.

 

But Prayut insisted the submarines were needed because the Kingdom’s small submarine fleet was decommissioned in 1951.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30310522

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-03-28

The General consensus is that Thailand does not need submarines and secondly even it did - could not afford to buy them and run them, there are much more important and sensible things that such a huge amount of money could be spent on..........such as education and reform of the RTP, the latter being aimed at actually training them to do their jobs proactively especially the enforcement of traffic laws which will reduce the massive death toll on Thailands roads

 

 

Also a 500baht fine for causing an accident is a joke  

 

Submarines ?????????

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If the Kingdom's small submarine fleet was decommissioned in 1951; (and it's major contribution during WWII was providing electrical power to the Bangkok Trams after an air raid destroyed the power station), maybe 66 years on the Kingdom has worked out how to manage without them?

 

After all, the Trams have gone...

 

 

They want to think of themselves as a super power.

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They always want to run, before they can walk. Delusional!

What's to mull  ?

 

The military has already decided to make the purchase all the cabinet is going to do is to rubber stamp the order 

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Langsuan Man said:

What's to mull  ?

 

The military has already decided to make the purchase all the cabinet is going to do is to rubber stamp the order 

 

 

 

 

I think "mull" is code for how to split up the 30-40% commission on the sale.

 

In the photo, Prawit definitely has the look of someone who has just won the lottery.

200,000 to you, 200,00 to you 200,000 to you and oh yes 200, 000 to you . Now tell me do you think the submarine deal should receive enough support ?

Thaksin will pay 17 billion so it costs them only 1 billion extra....

4 minutes ago, brucec64 said:

In the photo, Prawit definitely has the look of someone who has just won the lottery.

Him looks same same as a Thai ricefarmer....

here's to hoping that the whole cabinet is going to test-drive these subs.

Not sure of the justification in buying these. You can clearly see ( and smell ) the sewage and rubbish in the sea near us without the need to go looking underneath the waves.

Before they go looking for the rubber stamp and ink pad, they may want to stage a mock debate to play in the media.  Give the appearance of some sort of discourse, though choreographed. 

Insane waste of money.

Thailands infrastructure is crying out for improvements, and should be a far higher priority than submarines that will do nothing for the country, other than something to show off with at the next naval parade.

Face wins out over common sense again.

3 accidents waiting to happen, that's if they ever leave the pen. 

If the NLA are Junta are so keen to get them, perhaps they should spend a couple of weeks under water in it to test its capabilities and durability. Bet they would not be so keen to buy them then.

Makes about as much sense as the sukhumvit underpass in pattaya but someone is lining their pockets...

5 hours ago, fruitman said:

Him looks same same as a Thai ricefarmer....

Which lottery ? Only Euromillions would come close, and even then it would need to be a multi roll-over

Edited March 28, 20179 yr by whatawonderfulday

As long as the Thai population remain mute and frightened to speak out then this action like many others taken by the rich on behalf of the poor will continue

Where is the voice of the politicians

Well earning submarines dolphins will be interesting... sad ... headlines to follow sub sinks ....  Seaman Somchai forgot to close the hatch.

 

I'll bet these Chinese cast-off subs are infested with cockroaches and have 'open-plan' toilets.

From where exactly is the perceived threat that makes this submarine purchase necessary?? Oh, perhaps it is China ......oops, so much for service and maintence

I think our glorious leader has been reading from the North Korean book of how to make friends and influence people.

The obvious, veiled threat would be, "now we've got em, let the world beware".

This is of course a pissing in the wind type statement.Like the lizard that blows its throat out in times of threat.They were unable to make a sub for some years, how would they know how to run one now, let alone three.Its like every Thai intention, starts off good, and ends in nothing.

57 minutes ago, biggles45 said:

From where exactly is the perceived threat that makes this submarine purchase necessary?? Oh, perhaps it is China ......oops, so much for service and maintence

Perhaps Thailand want to threaten Cambodia more.  Given the ease to do business there and the level of Chinese investment....."oops, so much for service and maintence"

1 hour ago, biggles45 said:

From where exactly is the perceived threat that makes this submarine purchase necessary?? Oh, perhaps it is China ......oops, so much for service and maintence

 

 

...history.. the Burmese.....555

 

I think my eyes are getting bad as it looks to me we have a weight problem, mine you the tailor will like that.

 

Dun deal in 2015 from wiki

 

•  Royal Thai Navy - On 2 July 2015, the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) formally selected China's Yuan-class (Type 041) platform to meet a requirement for three submarines. The RTN's procurement committee voted unanimously in favour of purchasing the submarine, which has been designated S26T (Thailand), a modified export version of the Yuan-class.^[12] On 1 July 2016, the RTN submitted a funding plan for its 36 billion baht submarine procurement project to the cabinet for consideration with the expenditure to be spread over 11 years. If approved, the first submarine would be bought for 13 billion baht between fiscal years 2017-2021. The second and third submarines would be purchased during the remainder of the 11-year period.^[13][14]

41 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

Perhaps Thailand want to threaten Cambodia more.  Given the ease to do business there and the level of Chinese investment....."oops, so much for service and maintence"

No you are way off there as behind the Cambodians is a little know country called Vietnam who are not just the no1 holiday destination these days

11 hours ago, webfact said:

Bt18 billion submarine-purchasing deal with China

 

A bit overpriced subs... 
They can better buy submarines build in the Netherlands. 
They will cost less than 150 million Euro / pc. (Bt 5.5 billion)
And quality will be 100 times better than something made in China with their 12 m warranty. (m stands for meter, not for month)

10 hours ago, fruitman said:

Thaksin will pay 17 billion so it costs them only 1 billion extra....

Oh I dont think China will wait forever to collect fantasy money.