The Thai navy plans to acquire six 3-decade-old German submarines, as Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has approved in principle the $253 million purchase.
A Thai navy source said a recent meeting that included Abhisit, Defense Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon and Thai navy commander in chief Adm. Kamthorn Pumhiran was "satisfactory" as Abhisit supported the purchase.
Some analysts are questioning the decision to purchase the vessels, given their age and especially as last year Germany stopped using the U-206 submarines because they are outdated and too expensive to maintain, The Bangkok Post reported Tuesday.
The diesel submarines were designed in the 1960s for the Cold War, when German forces prepared to defend against the Soviet navy. But since German reunification in 1990 and the collapse of the Soviet Union the following year, new technologies and military strategies impelled the German armed forces to upgrade their navy's submarines.
Political science Professor Surachart Bamrungsuk of Chulalongkorn University said the expensive submarine program is a way for Abhisit's Democrat Party to gain favor with the military for political support in upcoming elections.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who is in charge of national security, has defended the Thai navy's submarine procurement plan, insisting that the boats are essential to safeguard the nation's maritime frontiers. He noted that several countries in the region have submarines that could pose a threat to Thailand's offshore areas in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.
Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam all have modest submarine fleets.
Prawit has also supported the procurement plan, while noting that fiscal constraints limited the navy at present to purchasing secondhand submarines.
The U-206 class submarines are powered by diesel engines and electric motors and are designed for inshore coastal patrol operations rather than long range patrolling. The Thai navy source said that the service believes that despite the submarines' age, the boats will be viable for another decade's worth of service.
The submarine purchase program is part of a long-term weapons acquisition program of the Abhisit government for Thailand's army, navy and air force, which are submitting plans to buy weapons over a 10-year period with an estimated total cost of more than $16 billion.
The Thai navy announced plans to buy the German submarines after a two-year feasibility study concluded that they could prove useful in Thailand's territorial waters.
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