Thai Navy Under Pressure to Buy ‘Notoriously Loud’ Chinese Submarine Engine After German Embargo

A nuclear-powered submarine of the People's Liberation Army Navy's North Sea Fleet prepares to dive into the sea on Oct. 29, 2013. AFP/AFP via Getty Images

Thai officials are scheduled to visit China this month to continue negotiations over a botched submarine deal, in which Beijing sold the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) submarines without engines.

Sources at the Thai defense ministry told Asia Nikkei that Thailand is still considering a deal from China as Beijing attempts to save face after it failed to ensure it could procure German engines to go in its S26T Yuan-class submarine. The RTN and China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co. (CSOC) signed a $402 million contract for the submarine in 2017.

Germany’s Rolls Royce engine maker MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH refused to supply its MTU396 engine to the submarine maker due to a long-standing EU embargo on supplying arms to China’s communist regime, causing the unresolved delay.

The European Union arms embargo was imposed after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

The German Embassy in Thailand said in February that Beijing hadn’t consulted with Germany before it signed the contract with Thailand.

The submarine was to be delivered in 2023. China is now offering its CHD620 engine made by CSOC.

The RTN in February was reported to have visited Wuhan in China to inspect the substitute engine and negotiate a new deal.

After inspecting the engine, the RTN expressed concerns that the CHD620 is of inferior quality to the German-made engines in the contract.

Zachary Abuza, professor of Southeast Asian security at the Washington-based National War College, told Asia Nikkei, “Although there have been real improvements in Chinese submarine engines, the ones on offer are notoriously loud.”

The Thais said they expect their new submarine to match the standard of the Chinese navy, which has secured 56 diesel-electric engines from MTU over the years despite the embargo.

The RTN has three conditions for accepting the China-made engines: a guarantee of replacement, compensation for construction delays while waiting for the engines, and a guarantee for the safety of the future vessel crew.

“But if the substitute from CSOC cannot pass the test, the contract must be terminated, and the two sides will have to hold talks to discuss compensation or a refund,” said navy spokesman Adm. Pokkrong Monthatphalin, according to a report by Bangkok Post in August last year.

According to the contract, CSOC is allowed to replace any component with a comparable equivalent, Pokkrong said.