NAN-F-33
Jets
Bangkok, July 11, 2017 (Reuters/NAN) Thailand’s cabinet on Tuesday approved 258 million dollars to purchase eight T-50 advanced jets from South Korea, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Tuesday.
That was the latest defense acquisition by a military government that took power following a 2014 coup.
The military government has increased the defence budget every year since the coup, although most recent defence purchases have been Chinese, including a controversial deal for three submarines that provoked questions over its transparency.
Thailand’s defence ministry stressed that it was not buying exclusively from China and was still making purchases from other countries, including the U.S., an old ally.
“The cabinet approved the purchase of eight further jets in the second phase of a 2015 deal in which Thailand bought four jets from South Korea.
“We got the South Korean ones.
“You can see that we are not tied to one particular country,’’ Prayuth told reporters in Bangkok.
On Monday, the army said the deal was worth 8.8 billion baht (258 million dollars).
In June, Thailand’s army chief said that the U.S. had planned to sell four Black Hawk helicopters to Thailand after initially suspending their sale following the 2014 coup.
The U.S. has sold to Thailand military equipment worth more than 960 million dollars, including Black Hawk helicopters, air-to-air missile systems and multiple naval missile and torpedo systems, over the past decade.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said the jets would replace the 20-year-old planes that were due to be decommissioned. (Reuters/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Abdullahi Yusuf