The Thailand Government is considering to buy a frigate instead of a submarine from China after the Chinese manufacturer was unable to include a German engine as specified in the original deal.
There would be further discussion on the new plan next month.
Noteworthy, Thailand concluded an agreement to buy one of the three Yuan Class S26T submarines in 2017 for 13.5 billion baht ($373.55 million).
While, the order for the other two subs was approved by parliament in 2020 for 22.5 billion baht ($622.58 million).
As of now, Thailand reportedly has already paid a 7-billion-baht ($193.7 million) instalment to China for the purchase of one of three submarines with German-made diesel engines.
However, the deal was delayed when Germany forbade the use of its engines for Chinese military exports.
China has proposed replacing the German engines with Chinese-made equipment several rounds of negotiations did not yield a conclusive result.
