Engine troubles bring sink-or-swim moment for Thailand’s sub deal with China

This month brings a make-or-break meeting for the Thai Navy’s deal to buy a Chinese-made submarine, with delivery threatened by the fading chance of China getting German top-end engines as stipulated in the contract.

Next year’s delivery deadline for Thailand’s first submarine since World War II is now out of the question. The German government refuses to supply MTU396 diesel engines from Germany’s Motor and Turbine Union company, as specified in the Bt13.5-billion purchase deal signed in 2017 between the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) and China’s state-owned China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co (CSOC) for the Yuan-class S26T submarine.

Full story: thaipbsworld.com

By Thai PBS World