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Thailand halted its plan to purchase Chinese submarines and switched to frigates
Recently, the Thai military announced that it had stopped its planned purchase of submarines from China and purchased frigates instead.
This move has aroused widespread attention and heated discussions. The Thai military said that China could not meet Thailand's demands, which became the main reason for Thailand's change of plans. According to media reports, Thailand has raised doubts about the quality and technical performance of Chinese submarines.
It is understood that Thailand signed a submarine procurement agreement with China in 2017 and plans to order three submarines from China. The plan is seen as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia and is seen as an important cooperation project in Sino-Thai relations. However, after a period of consultation and inspection, Thailand decided to halt the submarine procurement program.
The Thai military said it found that China could not meet their requirements for submarines. First of all, the Thai army questioned the stealth performance of Chinese submarines. According to the report, Chinese submarines have some technical challenges in reducing sound and electromagnetic signatures. Thailand's defense needs require submarines with high stealth performance, which is one of the main reasons why they choose to buy submarines.
Secondly, the Thai military has concerns about the overall performance and reliability of Chinese submarines. According to the report, there is still a certain gap between the quality and technical stability of China's submarines and those of advanced international countries. Since submarines are highly concealed and dangerous, their quality and reliability are important indicators for evaluating whether a submarine is suitable for procurement. The Thai military believes that Chinese submarines have certain shortcomings in this regard.
In addition, security is a very important factor for the procurement of new weapons and equipment. The Thai military believes that China's secrecy about its submarine technology does not meet Thailand's requirements. Thailand wants to have its own self-developed submarine technology to meet its national security needs. Since China could not provide sufficient secrecy, the Thai army did not consider it necessary to purchase Chinese submarines.
In the face of this decision of the Thai military, the Chinese side expressed regret, but said that it respected Thailand's decision. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the relations between China and Thailand are based on the principles of equality and mutual benefit, and China will continue to work to promote cooperation and exchanges between the two countries.
However, Thailand's decision has also raised concerns and questions from some people.
Some people believe that the Thai military has too high requirements for the quality of Chinese submarines, and the technical level of Chinese submarines is sufficient to meet Thailand's defense needs. It is also believed that Thailand has chosen to buy frigates more in consideration of cooperation opportunities with other countries, which means that Thailand wants to diversify its military equipment procurement.
In any case, Thailand's decision to halt the purchase of Chinese submarines and switch to the purchase of frigates has sparked discussions about the relationship between China and Thailand. Cooperation and exchanges between China and Thailand will continue to develop, but some adjustments may need to be made in some areas. For China, this may be an opportunity for China to continue to improve the quality and reliability of its military equipment and enhance its international competitiveness.
In short, Thailand's decision to halt its plan to purchase Chinese submarines and purchase frigates in favor of it has undoubtedly had a certain impact on the cooperation between China and Thailand. However, it also reminds all parties to pay more attention to quality and reliability in military equipment procurement to ensure national security. It is believed that the future development of Sino-Thai relations will continue to be based on mutual benefit and equal cooperation.
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