Arms procurement has been a thorny issue for almost every government, especially the current one under the leadership of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the former army chief.
After taking control of the country by staging a coup in 2014, his government has been criticised for vigorously approving arms purchases.
The latest controversy -- which could prove a time bomb for the government in next month's censure debate -- involves the procurement of three S26T Yuan-class submarines approved in 2017, at a cost of 36 billion baht, or about 12 billion baht each.
So far, the country has paid 7 billion baht as part of an installment plan to the Chinese shipbuilder to deliver the first submarine in 2024.
However this hit a snag recently as China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co (CSOC) can no longer fulfil its purchase-agreement stipulation specifying the use of MTU396 diesel engines supplied by Germany's MTU.
MTU has reportedly been barred from making the sale due to an embargo as they are designated a military/defence item.
Gen Prayut, who also serves as defence minister, failed to act decisively. Instead of issuing an ultimatum in response to the vendor being unable to honour the procurement deal, he only gave an equivocal statement, effectively tap-dancing around the issue.
"What do we do with a submarine with no engines? Why should we purchase it? If the agreement can't be fulfilled, we have to figure out what to do. Isn't that how we solve a problem?" he said.
When asked whether the government can and will terminate the deal, Gen Prayut said the matter will be considered by the relevant authorities in line with the procurement process, and the prime minister need not intervene at each stage.
It is noteworthy that the CSOC is continuing to assemble the submarine. In the middle of this month, it has been confirmed that the CSOC will hold talks with the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The shipbuilder has reportedly asked the navy to alter the contract so as to replace the German engines with alternatives such as the MWM 620, which is of the same standard.
But the RTN apparently wants to stick with the preferred technology from MTU. The navy has used the technology of this Germany brand to shore up its fleets for years, during which time it has become familiar with, and developed trust in, the brand.
At this point, it is unclear what exactly the RTN hopes to resolve with the CSOC. The only problem it needs to manage is Thai procurement law and also Thai taxpayers, whose patience is running thin with the government's weapon-shopping sprees.
Taxpayers desperately need to see their money well spent on bread-and-butter issues such as healthcare and education. As such, learning that the navy plans to hold talks with the Chinese submarine supplier to give it some wriggle room, may be the last straw.
For a number of years, the RTN has tried to procure modern submarines to modernise its maritime surveillance capacity. The navy has constantly lamented how it lags neighbouring countries including Myanmar and Cambodia, both of which already have modern subs.
Now that its wish has finally been granted, the least the RTN can do is prove its arms procurement is transparent and trustworthy.
Moreover, the navy must get the submarine it actually wants, rather than whatever version the shipbuilder is trying to offload.
