China Sold Thailand Submarines That Lack Engines

Beijing is trying to make up for it with old boats only fit for training

Anders Corr March 17, 2022

 

Thailand is buying submarines that it doesn’t need from China, and China has no engines to put in them. How could this happen?  Perhaps the Thai navy got bad advice. Perhaps Thai officials got paid off by the Chinese—it is one of Beijing’s favorite strategies when signing contracts for billions of dollars around the world.

Whatever happened, China sold Thailand something it couldn’t deliver: Chinese submarines with German engines. When Germany’s engine maker, MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH, refused to provide the engines due to European Union sanctions from the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, Beijing realized it had to provide something else, or lose the Thai contract and its own pride.......Thai citizens should take notice. European citizens should take notice. Americans, Australians, Filipinos, and Taiwanese should take notice. Beijing, which likely egged Russian President Vladimir Putin on in his invasion of Ukraine, is up to no good when it encourages an arms race in Southeast Asia...........To Read More....