OPINION

Sink the 'Thaitanic'

Secretly approved by the cabinet, the military junta government is planning to purchase Chinese-made submarines, with a total cost of over 36 billion baht. A 700-million-baht down payment will soon be made, followed by a yearly 2.1-billion-baht instalment over the next decade.

The last time an elected government approved something in secret, it was toppled. Be that as it may, to say that the next elected government can scrap the submarine deal but must justify throwing away the 700-million-baht down payment is uncalled for. The onus of responsibility must reside with the current junta government which initiated the project, not the next elected government, which would already be weakened. Indeed, it is one of the political time bombs waiting to explode for the next administration -- deliberately.

In addition to the submarines procurement cost are the astronomical costs of personnel training, maintenance, repair, and docking facilities. I cannot directly benefit from a submarine, even for selfies. But I can fully enjoy the benefits of bullet trains from Bangkok-Phuket en route to Kuala Lumpur.

To say that Thailand has not had submarines in the last six decades, and without which Thailand will be vulnerable to foreign threats is contradictory. Since World War II and the brief Japanese occupation of Thailand, the country has never been invaded by foreign powers in spite of the absence of submarines. Militarily speaking, half a dozen (outdated) submarines will do nothing to protect Thailand's borders in the age of cyberattack, digital and space wars. Having a strong economy will.

The navy says it has adequate funding, independent of budget allocated for social welfare purposes. What if, hypothetically, it doesn't have it to begin with? Assuming so, the junta government is dangerously dabbling in geopolitics, inviting China to the "dinner table", getting a call from President Trump, without revealing much to the public.

There are other win-win strategies where both the military junta and the people gain, using available funds effectively. "Thaitanic" is not one of them.

The fixation by the Thai government on purchasing a sub for the "bargain" rate of 13.5 billion baht only reflects the surface expenditure of this asinine adventure. The true cost of acquiring a submarine for Thailand will be well over 200 billion baht due to the support and infrastructure required for this type of equipment. Special docks and dry docks will be required to just properly "park" the submarine and work on it for general maintenance. Special ships called "submarine tenders" will need to be purchased to supply and rescue the subs when they break (and every piece of technology breaks). Hyperbaric chambers will be required in case the sub breaks and settles on the bottom. A way to rescue trapped sailors and gradually adjust their exposure to atmospheric pressures is necessary. Though there are some around for diving purposes, these do not have the capacity to rescue a crew of 100 sailors. Then a complete communication system will have to be built since submarines cannot use the standard UHF frequencies that the Thai military currently employs.

In order to communicate with a submarine under water, cables and a system of specialised buoys will have to be deployed and maintained in order to use ULF frequencies. These communication devices are also linked to harming marine animals such as whales and dolphins that use organic sonar to navigate the depths. Then of course there is the cost of creating and supporting a division to train personnel to operate a submarine.

It would be a reasoned response and proper journalism for reporters to investigate this further past the standard blather and fixation of the price of a submarine from China. My figure of 200 billion baht is just an estimate -- but the support issues I outlined come from my experience in the US Navy and are relevant to a proper social discussion on the topic.

"Mushroom couple get five years", (BP, May 3).

The Bangkok Post should be more responsible and avoid giving a headline that may stir up sensationalism. The court papers clearly indicate that the couple initially gave conflicting testimonies as to the types of mushrooms they were allegedly "picking together". And also they formally confessed in the provincial court (court of first instance) to the crime of encroaching on and cutting trees in a protected national park along with a bunch of villagers who managed to escape -- but not them. That fact gave no other recourse for the court to judge otherwise.

News reports that intensify blatant sensationalism may convince a lot of people to support the journalist registration bill. The headline was like a ploy to elicit disparaging comments in the PostBag column from foreign readers who do not have access to the whole truth.

Where the submarine issue is concerned, one must try to understand that the budget for submarine acquisition is entirely within the Royal Thai Navy's regular allocation -- the kind of allocations made annually by the government to all government ministries in accordance with the ministries' own proposals to the government. It is simply impossible or beyond common sense to take away the navy's allocated budget to give to the Ministry of Health just because of mismanagement or otherwise by hospitals under its control.

Re: "A strategic balance is best", (Editorial, May 4).

There is growing evidence that the Thai government is now fully in cahoots with China. ​​The ​new submarine deal and other agreements ​with China​ speak for themselves. The complete silence about South China Sea issues is an indicator of its ​affiliation. Authoritarian regimes like to deal with their own kind. It is rather foolish for US President Donald Trump to think that Asean countries are going to follow his example. The so-called olive branch from Washington is nothing more than a symbolic attempt by a president who​ is desperate to​ do anything to remain in the news.

I would like to thank Malaysia Airlines for their excellent service last Sunday on what was meant to be a return trip from Bangkok to Perth in Australia. I had boarded one of Malaysia Airline's flights at Suvarnabhumi Airport and was settling in to my seat when I received an unexpected emotional phone call from the wife of a 42-year-old close friend of 30 years saying he was having a heart attack. I decided I needed to be there for my friend and his family and asked the crew if I could disembark. The response was calm, friendly and professional. Within a few minutes I was being led back through the airport, my passport quickly processed, reunited with my luggage and in to a taxi straight to Bangkok Hospital along with my now invalid ticket reinstated and rebooked for a few days later. I made it to the hospital in time to support my friend's wife while she waited outside the operating theatre and then to be part of the joy of discovering that he has been exceptionally lucky and will be making a full recovery.

Thank you, Malaysia Airlines.

It is encouraging to observe that Mr Gwynne Dyer has finally come to grasp that Turkey needs to defend itself against Daesh as well as other terrorist organisations all at the same time in his recent article of 19 April 2017.

However, he is mistaken to label the Turkish armed and security forces operations as "war". The operations carried out by the Turkish security forces fall better under the term of the fight against terrorism. Last but not least, for the purpose of avoiding any misunderstanding by readers and offering a complete picture, the PKK terrorists, falsely referred to by Mr Dyer as Kurdish separatists, have caused over 30,000 people among them soldiers and police officers, teachers, doctors, nurses and engineers, women and children to lose their lives.

Mr Dyer is again mistaken at best and clearly confused in speculating that the results of the recent Turkish referendum "will unleash turmoil". Contrary to his statement, the amendments to the constitution will streamline the executive power and make the head of the executive, namely the popularly elected president of the republic, accountable to parliament. The new constitutional arrangements have rectified the anomaly created by previous constitutional arrangements which instituted a presidency held by direct popular vote and the symbolic and unaccountable nature of the president's responsibilities. The new system preserves checks and balances among three distinct poles, namely executive, legislative and judiciary powers.

Although the gap between "yes" and "no" votes seem proportionally small, some 1.3 million more people have voted in favour of the amendments. The outcome of the referendum reflects the will of the Turkish people. The high turnout rate of 85% merits particular appreciation.

Some days ago my 15-year old grandson asked me what life was like in my younger days.

"Let me see," I began, "I was born before television, frozen foods, Xerox, the pill or contact lenses. There were no credit cards, laser beams, or ball point pens. We dried our clothes in sunlight. Your grandmother and I didn't live together until we got married. I called men older than me "Sir". There were no gay rights or computer dating. We obeyed Buddha's teachings, used good judgement, and common sense. We had only short, medium, and long wave radios. No CDs. We relied on good old black dial telephones.

We had slow food. Not fast. When on a family outing in a restaurant, we'd look at each other and talk about life. We didn't look down and play with a device. Men wore no earrings. We listened to big band music and once saw King of Swing Benny Goodman live on stage in Lumpini. A bus or tram ride would cost only 10-20 satang. Kuay teow neua (beef noodles) was 50 satang to one baht. If you asked for a 7-Up the Chinese shopkeeper would say, "No, we have only Chik-Up." Chik in Chinese means seven.

Pizza Hut, McDonald's or instant coffee were unheard of. If you wanted good ice cream you had to go to a soda fountain. There was no palm oil-based ice cream like today. A British-made four-seater convertible Standard would cost only 4,000 baht, and petrol was less than a baht per litre. Most of the imports were from England or US. Anything made in China was absolute junk.

The whole of Sukhumvit from Phloenchit was called Bang Kapi. Places of entertainment were on Charoen Krung and Yaowarat. When your grandmother and I went to dance at nightclubs we wore suits and beautiful dresses. We paid respect to the establishment. We danced to a six- or eight-piece Filipino band. Not screaming tattoed DJs spinning vinyls. If you were alone and wanted to dance you could rent a dance partner for 40-70 baht an hour, depending on nationality. Cinemas had no aircon but huge fans on both sides. The seat would cost a few satang to two baht.

During World War II when the Americans were raining bombs on the the city, we would scurry to the nearest bomb shelter. And if there was none nearby the biggest table would be the safest place. April was very kind, just like any other month while December was cruelly cold. Bangkok once recorded a temperature of 9C. Power outages were common and many homes would have their refrigerators run on kerosene. A newspaper cost 50 satang to one baht. My father gave me five baht a week in pocket money.

I can go on and on endlessly. Now you see what life was like. You look after yourself well. Remember this ... Worse is yet to come.