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Planes, tanks, subs: the Thai generals’ shopping list
BANGKOK, Feb 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Defence spending in Thailand has surged
over the last decade, during which the military has seized power twice.
The junta-picked National Legislative Assembly has proposed $7 billion for
defence in the 2019 fiscal year — a $1-billion increase since the 2014 coup.
Big purchases — many from China — have drawn criticism in a country
riddled with inequality, corruption and still beset by an insurgency in the
deep south.
Here are some of Thailand’s military acquisitions and their eye-popping
price tags:
– Deep water –
In 2017, Thailand approved the purchase of the first of three Yuan-class
submarines from China at $393 million each.
The junta defended the move, called it a bargain for the Thai navy, and
said it was needed to safeguard resources in the Andaman Sea.
A submarine training centre sits outside Bangkok with a simulator but no
actual subs.
Talks are also underway for China to construct a military hardware repair
facility in Thailand.
The submarine plan stirred comparisons with the aircraft carrier Thailand
bought from Spain in the 1990s — now a white elephant that sits at port and
has no planes.
– New tanks –
Thailand’s military gave itself a new year’s gift of more than a dozen VT-
4 Chinese battle tanks worth 2.2 billion baht ($70 million).
In 2017, the junta approved the $58-million purchase of 10 VT-4s, which
itself followed deals to procure 28 of the model.
The defence minister said the VT-4s would replace Thailand’s ageing US-
made M41 tanks that had been in use since World War II.
The Thai army has rarely used tanks in recent years, except for
deployments during street protests.
– Flying high –
China is not Thailand’s only military supplier.
Bangkok announced in 2017 its air force would get eight South Korean-
manufactured jets in a $2.6-billion splurge, adding to four others snapped up
in 2015.
Those four T-50TH Golden Eagles are worth around $110 million and were
delivered last year, manufacturer Korea Aerospace Industries said on its
website.
KAI also said the eight advanced trainer jets would arrive by 2020.
– US deals –
The US government has sold approximately $437 million of major military
hardware to Thailand through Foreign Military Sales (FMS) since 2014, a
figure that does not account for direct commercial sales.
“Thailand is one of our oldest partners in Asia, and our broad cooperation
continues on issues that benefit both our countries, the region, and beyond,”
the embassy said in a statement to AFP.
Thailand is a longtime US ally but ties were briefly strained after the
2014 coup.
President Donald Trump warmed things up when he invited coup leader Prayut
Chan-O-Cha to the White House in October 2017.
But US arms sales — including Black Hawk helicopters reportedly purchased
in 2017 — have not made as many headlines as the big China buys.
– An army park –
Not all military-backed projects have focused on arms.
Less than a year after the royalist junta took over, it built a park
glorifying seven ancient Thai kings near the seaside town of Hua Hin.
Each bronze figure is 14 metres (46 feet) high.
But Rajabhakti Park, which opened in 2015, became mired in corruption
allegations over-inflated costs linked to the project — from the trees to
the public toilets.
The statues themselves were said to cost around $1 million each.
The graft claims were rejected and the government said funds to build the
project were donated by the public and private sectors.
BSS/AFP/MR/1053 hrs