Navy defends decision to buy Chinese-made tanks
published : 2 Jun 2021 at 09:18
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Wassana Nanuam and Mongkol Bangprapa
The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) on Tuesday defended its purchase of three Chinese-made tanks, saying it was approved before the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.
Responding to criticism of the delivery of three VN16 tanks, an RTN spokesman said the 398-million-baht project was approved in 2020 so the country was committed to buying them.
During Monday's budget bill debate, the opposition questioned why the tanks arrived in Thailand before the Covid-19 vaccines, which are a greater priority. The observation sparked criticism on social media against the government.
According to a source, the order for the three tanks was placed in June last year and the tanks arrived in Thailand last week. The tanks will be assigned to the Marine Division in Chon Buri's Sattahip district, said the same source.
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Vocabulary
- approved: given official agreement or permission - ได้รับการรับรองแล้ว
- budget: (n) the money that is available to a person or an organisation and a plan of how it will be spent over a period of time -
- committed (verb): to have promised that you will definitely do something, keep to an agreement or arrangement, etc - ให้คำมั่น
- criticism: comments that show that you think something is wrong or bad - การวิจารณ์
- debate: a discussion in which people or groups state different opinions about a subject - การอภิปราย, การโต้วาที, การถกเถียง
- defend: to say things to support someone or something - ปกป้อง
- observation (noun): a comment, especially based on something you have seen, heard or read - การสังเกต,
- opposition: of a political party that is not part of the government or a group which is against the government - ฝ่ายค้าน ผู้ต่อต้าน
- priority: something important that needs to be done first or needs more attention than anything else - สิ่งที่สำคัญที่สุดเป็นอันดับแรก
- source: a place where information comes from; someone who gives information - แหล่งข่าว
