Submarines not worth the money
- Published: 29/03/2011 at 11:00 PM
- Online news: Opinion
The Thai military has a history of bad decisions and wasteful spending in making arms acquisitions which have cost the taxpayers huge amounts of money. The Royal Thai Navy's plan to buy old submarines from Germany could well be just another wrong decision.
The Royal Thai Navy’s long-standing dream of having a submarine fleet appears about to be fulfilled now that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has approved, in principle, its proposal to purchase six 30-plus-year old German submarines at a cost of 7.7 billion baht.Besides the security and skills training reasons cited to justify the acquisition of the submarines, an informed source said, a major argument behind the move is that the Thai navy will be left way behind the times without submarines.The navy’s wish for a submarine fleet, no matter of how old they are, has received strong backing from Deputy Prime Minister in charge of security affairs Suthep Thaugsuban. He said the submarines were necessary to protect Thailand’s territorial waters and maritime resources, and that other countries in the region already have submarines, which could pose a threat to Thailand’s national interests.Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia do have submarines, and Vietnam has placed orders for six Kilo-class submarines from Russia, leaving Thailand in the league of poor countries in the region which cannot afford submarines -- countries such as Cambodia and Burma, and also land-locked Laos, which couldn't possibly need them.This probably is something that the top brass at the Thai navy cannot tolerate and that has kept alive their ambition for a submarine fleet, ever since their dream to acquire two used submarines from the Swedish firm Kockums was shot down back in 1996 because, yes, Thailand couldn't afford them at the time.So, what has changed?From the narrow viewpoint of the navy top brass, 7.7 billion baht for six used German submarines is worthwhile spending, despite the fact that they are being decommissioned and good for only another 10 years. But this means that in 10 years they will without a doubt want to buy a newer fleet of submarines - to keep up appearances - at even greater cost.The 7.7 billion baht price tag, which is staggering for submarines which are more than 30 years old, is just the starting price. There are additional costs - crewing and training, provision of docking and maintenance facilities, and the cost of regular maintenance itself just to keep them operational.It's questionable if the Thai navy has any clear idea how much this will cost each year. Don't forget, the German navy decided to decommission the submarines because the high cost of keeping these ageing, obsolete war machines operational is just not worth it.Can the Thai navy afford the maintenance costs without asking for even more budget funds from the government? Just look at the Chakri Naruebet aircraft carrier as a good example of why not. The ship has been...
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About the author
- Writer: Veera Prateepchaikul
- Position: Former Editor
