OPINION

Shoddy army purchases

Re: "Navy still unsure about China sub engine," (BP, Dec 16).

We should not be the first country in the world, apart from Pakistan's navy, to use this engine for active duty. Even the Chinese -- who designed and developed it -- don't have enough faith in it to use it in any of their 50+ diesel attack subs; why should we? The PRC cares so little about their product quality that they've been shoving us an engine which hasn't even been used in their own navy's tests.

Remember, this sub has gone through the same Thai military procurement process that yielded us such gems as aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet, which hasn't been combat-ready for many years; the 757 bogus GT200 bomb detectors which cost more than 682 million baht yet were proven to be less reliable than flipping a coin, and the RTA observation airship which couldn't fly at combat heights for much of its eight-year life.

Re: "Mind made up," (PostBag, Dec 15) and "Questioning masks," (PostBag, Dec 14).

I see that Eric Barht and Jason Jellison are touting the latest Covid-minimising theory, which is that lockdowns and masks were actually harmful because people didn't get sick and therefore didn't "build" their immunity. It is ironic that anti-maskers vacillate between "masks are pointless," and yet "masks mean no one is exposed to bugs" -- which is it, then?

Fortunately, our immune systems are always working -- they do not need to be fighting infections to stay strong, unlike a muscle. It is not recommended to catch viruses if you can avoid them. The lockdown "immunity debt" theory also falls down on the fact that most countries ended all lockdowns in early 2021, and therefore have already had one winter to mix and mingle and share viruses (and indeed many Western countries had large waves of RSV last winter), so why are we blaming lockdowns for health crises 20 months later?

The more logical explanation for the current peaks in hospital admissions in the West is that multiple unmitigated Covid infections have damaged immune systems, much like the measles virus wipes one's immune memory: "immunity theft." And children are paying the price for this failure in public health, with pediatric hospitals in many countries including Canada, Australia and the UK having to turn away patients due to a lack of beds. Let's hope it never comes to that in Thailand.

Re: "There is a fine line," (PostBag, Dec 15).

Every day, the Post runs news about the surge in Covid cases, hospitalisations, and deaths in Thailand. While all this is being reported, some people keep denying the existence of Covid, and the uselessness of vaccines, masks, and other measures prescribed by doctors and professionals in the field of medicine. Despite more than six million deaths and economic meltdowns, to some maniacs, Covid is the biggest hoax of the 21st century. BP should carefully evaluate the opinions of such groups against its own news offerings. Otherwise, it may lose its own trustworthiness.

Re: ''Loyal citizen soldiers,'' (PostBag, Dec 13 and Dec 14).

American founding father Ben Franklin warned on Constitution Day, It's "a democracy, if you can keep it."

Machiavelli's and my point seems lost on the likes of Mr Qui: that, in order to keep a democracy, you must have a free citizen army loyal to the democracy. For example, the super-democratic Swiss have mandatory universal conscription for 18 to 30 year-olds. The Swiss draftees are not in Mr Qui's projected self-image, "unwilling citizens conscripted for forced service." Note that in a recent Swiss referendum 74% voted in favour of keeping their conscription system.

That is, Swiss citizens willingly serve in their military to protect their democracy. Unlike Mr Qui, who bravely struts and shouts out on these pages demanding a democratic Thailand, but then cowers at the very idea of anyone having to serve and defend it. Another chest pounding, free-ride seeking, all talk and no walk hot-air-bag.

Thailand is in transition and the BP editorialist is honestly struggling with how to best restore and keep Thailand democratic. So too are the inspiring younger generation, who take to the streets to demand a return to democracy. A draft allows them to further take their democratic resolve into a crucial arena in need of an infusion of inspired and responsible stewardship. Otherwise, a closed-off military, free of democracy-committed draftees, will recruit only those who fit the same old authoritarian mould.