The Thai government has finally approved the revised bill for the China-Thailand submarine procurement deal, deciding to adopt China's CHD620 diesel engine instead of the German MTU396 diesel engine that Thailand had previously insisted on. This has also led to the resumption of the long-stalled S26T submarine project.
As for Thailand's actions, three words can be used to evaluate them: "reckless maneuvering." If Thailand had remained firm in its decision to use Chinese-made diesel engines, the Royal Thai Navy would have already been equipped with S26T submarines.
Prejudice is a mountain! Initially, Thailand did not oppose the use of Chinese-made diesel engines for the S26T, but for some unknown reason, it quickly changed its mind and insisted on installing German diesel engines.
The main reason for Thailand's change of heart was prejudice; it always believed that German diesel engines were better than Chinese ones. Therefore, after hearing insidious suggestions, it immediately changed its stance.
China has always approached military trade with full sincerity and patience, repeatedly offering suggestions to Thailand, urging it to send people to see China's diesel engines, but Thailand refused to look. As a result, China no longer indulged it, saying, "Buy it or not!"
Thailand has been begging Germany to sell diesel engines for several years, but Germany has been aloof and refused to sell them.
Time flies, and several years have passed. Thailand still hasn't managed to buy diesel engines from Germany. However, it doesn't want to buy German submarines because they are too expensive, and their overall performance isn't any better than China's S26T.
After failing to obtain German diesel engines, Thailand finally remembered the previous advice from China about testing the Chinese CHD620 diesel engine. So Thailand decided to send people to test the Chinese CHD620 diesel engine. After the test, Thailand felt embarrassed, realizing that the overall performance and safety of the Chinese diesel engine were even superior to the German one, and it had already obtained classification society certification from Lloyd's Register. Now, Thailand has decided to adopt the Chinese diesel engine and restart the S26T submarine procurement project.
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1839995251937280/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.