The Royal Thai Navy and China Shipbuilding and Offshore International have entered into an agreement regarding the completion of a new diesel-electric submarine.
The contract is an amendment of an earlier one for the construction of a future Royal Thai Navy submarine that will be a variant of the Type 039A or Yuan-class boats in service with China's People's Liberation Army Navy.
The amended contract calls for the submarine to be completed within the next 40 months. During that same period, related activities such as training and familiarisation of crews, training of maintenance personnelm and technology transfers will also be undertaken.
The delivery of the submarine has now been scheduled for no later than the end of 2028.
Thailand's planned submarine purchase from China had earlier come under risk of termination following an issue regarding the supply of engines for the new boats.
In 2022, then-Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha warned the Chinese Government that the deal would be discontinued if the diesel engines that had been indicated in the purchase agreement will not be fitted in the submarines.
Prayut had addressed the warning to Beijing following the refusal of German manufacturer MTU to supply the engines that will power the first Type 039A submarine to be delivered to Thailand. MTU is being prevented from supplying the engines due to an EU government embargo that prohibits the sale of military equipment and related items to China.
Lieutenant-Colonel Philipp Doert, Germany's Defence Attache to Thailand, confirmed that China had offered the MTU engines as part of the submarine contract without first informing the German Government about the engines' inclusion in the purchase agreement.
Earlier this year, the Thai Government made a final decision on the purchase following consultations with Chinese and German officials as well as the Royal Thai Navy.
The cancellation of the deal would have meant the forfeiture of more than THB8 billion (US$240 million) already invested by the Thai Government into the submarine program. A significant portion of the investment has reportedly already been made into crew training, construction of dockyard facilities, and the establishment of a new submarine squadron.
