Thai minister: China must cut price or add weapons in sub-frigate swap
Thailand will ask China either to reduce the price of the frigate that the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) is buying in place of a submarine, or to supply the ship with weapons installed, Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang said on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has tasked Sutin with handling the issue, after China was unable to supply an S26T Yuan-class submarine fitted with a German-made engine as per the 2017 contract signed with the RTN. EU sanctions prevent Germany from supplying equipment that could be used in Chinese military hardware. As such, Beijing proposed a Chinese-made engine for the submarine, an offer later rejected by the RTN.
Instead, the Thai navy has opted to buy a frigate from China. However, the frigate is priced at 17 billion baht – 1 billion baht more than the original submarine procurement.
Speaking after Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Sutin said Thailand will negotiate with China to bring down the price of the frigate to the original 17-billion-baht purchase fee.
“If Beijing says no to the price reduction, they will have to deliver the ship with weapons installed instead of the barebones frigate,” said Sutin.
Sutin said the switch should not be interpreted as the Chinese shipbuilder violating the contract but was merely a way of handling noncompliance with the original contract.
“This issue is not just a purchasing contract. We need to consider our relationship and strategic cooperation [with China] as well,” he said.
