Armed Forces tally US military hardware ahead
of Prayut’s visit
June 27, 2017 01:00
THE NATION
THE MILITARY is taking stock of its US-made military
hardware ahead of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s visit to Washington late
next month.
Government officials widely anticipate that US President
Donald Trump might offer to increase military hardware sales, while Thailand
has heavily relied on China for procurements in recent years.
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit
Wongsuwan yesterday ordered military chiefs to complete inventories this month
to enable the premier to have adequate information before his departure to the
White House.
One of issues Prayut would raise with Trump would be
about the military hardware that the US had provided to Thailand over the past
decade – and also what Thailand expected to receive in the future, according to
Defence Ministry spokesperson Maj-General Kongcheep Tantrawanich.
However, Kongcheep insisted that did not mean Thailand
expected to agree on military purchases from the US any time soon.
“It is a general procedure to make lists of what Thailand
needs based on strategy and forward them for the PM’s consideration to provide
him with a holistic picture,” he said. “Other agencies follow this procedure as
well.”
Weapons deals would need to be considered by the military
and the Cabinet as well as in a procurement process, Kongcheep said. “It can’t
be out of the blue,” he added.
The spokesperson did not elaborate on what sort of
hardware Thailand was expecting, but said that would be decided based on
several contexts such as the regional security climate and economic situation.
Kongcheep said the US had tended to be tough to work with
regarding maintenance, the provision of spare parts and other unspecified
conditions.
To resolve that issue, as well as to “rebalance” foreign
influence in the Kingdom, the military had chosen to purchase Chinese military
hardware, he said.
“The maintenance, spare parts and provision of technology
– we talked about these issues with the US, and we brought them to discuss with
China,” the spokesperson said.
But Thailand, whose first official foreign relations were
conducted with the US, still kept track of military hardware purchased from the
US, he said.
“We told the US ambassador that we would like to obtain
their hardware,” he said. “We will consider agreement frameworks. After all,
the Thai military structure is modelled after that of the US.”
Thailand is a US treaty ally and has relied on US made
hardware until recently, when diplomatic ties worsened after the two recent
military coups.
The last time a Thai cabinet approved the purchase of US
military hardware was 15 years ago in 2002, when the Army was given a
Bt1.26-billion budget to purchase two Black Hawk helicopters.
Trump’s administration has criticised Thailand recently
for the trade surplus it has built up relative to the US over many years, but
it tends to be softer on rights and democratisation than its predecessor.
Prayut was personally invited to the White House during the president’s
introductory phone call in June.
Source:
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