Wacky stuff. Germany is blocking the sale of the engine for the Thai submarine the Chinese are building.
Thais are not enemies nor a threat. Chinese are largest trading partners of many. German politicians probably eager to play with people's minds and business. Maybe China will ban the sale of German cars, in return.
Part of the article on Diplomat:
Thailand’s procurement of a submarine from China could be canceled after a German company said it was unable to supply the needed propulsion system, the country’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said earlier this week.
In 2017, Thailand agreed to the purchase of the S26T submarine for 13.5 billion baht ($402.9 million), with payments to be made in installments over a seven-year period, with delivery expected next year.
But that deadline is unlikely to be met following the
recent news that Germany’s Motor and Turbine Union company has refused to supply cutting-edge MTU396 diesel engines to the Chinese firm building the S26T Yuan-class submarine for the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The German company is reportedly barred from making the sale due to a European Union government embargo on the sale of military items to China, imposed in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacres.
“What do we do with a submarine with no engines? Why should we purchase it?” Prayut told reporters on Monday, according to the
Bangkok Post. “If the agreement can’t be fulfilled, we have to figure out what to do. Isn’t that how we solve a problem?”
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According to Thai PBS World, the two governments will
hold talks later this month in a bid to settle the submarine engine issue, with Adm. Somprasong Nilsamai, the chief of the RTN, insisting that China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co (CSOC) has to comply with the contract, which specifically makes mention of the German propulsion system.
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CSOC has offered the RTN two alternatives: to use Chinese-made engines that it deems equivalent to the German ones, or to transfer two of China’s decommissioned submarines to Thailand. Thailand has refused both offers.
When asked if the Thai government has the ability to terminate the contract, Prayut said the matter will be considered by authorities concerned. But he insisted that any cancellation would not affect relations between Bangkok and Beijing, which have warmed since Prayut’s seizure of power in a coup in 2014. ......
A German company has refused to supply the necessary diesel engines to the Chinese firm building the submarine.
thediplomat.com