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Thailand buys submarines to keep up with the Joneses

27th August 2020 - 22:27 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Christchurch

RSS

COVID-19 may have severely dented Thailand’s defence budget, but the procurement of two additional S26T diesel-electric submarines for the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) from China will avoid any detrimental effects.

On 21 August, a House of Representatives subcommittee responsible for scrutiny of the FY2021 budget approved the purchase of the next two Yuan-class submarines for THB22.5 billion ($720 million).

Yutthapong Jarassathian, deputy chairman of the subcommittee, told press that the submarine deal had been contentious and the subcommittee had had difficulty reaching a decision.

The RTN argued that the acquisition should be approved, tabling an MoU that listed a plan to

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