The Navy's used submarine shopping plan lacks foresight and will likely lead to higher costs in the future.
The country saw its first submarine deployment in 1938 when four vessels constructed in Japan, including the HTMS Matchanu, took part in coastal battles during the Franco-Siam War and World War II.
The four boats were decommissioned in 1951 due to both a lack of spare parts- because Japan was barred from weapons production - and political reprisal following a Navy-led coup attempt.
And for the past 60 years, the Navy's big dream has been to rebuild its submarine squadron.
In modern ocean warfare, a battle is fought along three dimensions - in the air, on the surface and under water. From a tactical viewpoint, the Navy has a legitimate reason to try to improve its undersea capability.
The Gulf of Thailand covers about 300,000 square kilometres and borders on four coastal states - Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam. About one-third of the area is under continental shelf claims.
Besides the Thai-Malaysian joint development area covering 5,800skm, the conflicting and overlapping areas have yet to be sorted out by the four coastal states.
About three-fifths of the country's total geographical area is territorial waters and exclusive economic zones under the Navy's charge. It is inexplicable that for six decades, the Navy has failed to rally the public behind its planned procurement of submarines.
In the reign of King Vajiravudh, Thais donated Bt3 million, a huge sum in those days, from 1914-1920 so that the Navy could acquire a destroyer, the HTMS Phra Ruang, from England.
Despite the hardships caused by the Great Depression, the public did not want the country's naval defences to be compromised. The Navy should reflect on its current awareness campaign to understand why its public support seems to have waned.
In the last few weeks, the Army has dominated headlines by executing daring rescue missions for flood victims in the South, while the Navy launched a one-off mission by dispatching its flagship helicopter carrier, the HTMS Chakri Narubet, to evacuate some 700 tourists trapped on Koh Tao.
Then the sailors stayed on the sidelines while ground troops carried out relief operations in coastal provinces.
The submarine deployment saga had its beginnings in 1996 when the Navy unveiled its budget plan to buy two patrol submarines from Sweden's Kockums Industry.
Due to suspicion of irregularities in the Banharn Silapa-archa government, the deal was sunk even before the procurement details emerged.
Despite the setback to the Kockums deal, the Navy has come up with a handful of new proposals in recent years ranging from buying to leasing new or second-hand submarines. The proposals were shot down during inter-agency reviews before they could reach the Cabinet.
The Navy has a lot of explaining to do if it wants the public's blessing for the submarine deployment.
When the procurement plan was hatched, the Navy wanted two new submarines. Suddenly the plan changed to buying six decommissioned U-206As from Germany with an operating life of no more than 10 years.
Four will be deployed while the other two will be kept for spare parts.
After decades of waiting, it does not make sense to spend Bt7.7 billion for submarines destined for burial in the Gulf of Thailand.
Many see the rush to secure the U-206A submarines as a stopgap measure until funds are earmarked in the future for a newer submarine squadron.
The country will end up paying twice - Bt7.7 billion now for the scrapped ships and much more later for their replacement.
No comments:
Post a Comment