MOSCOW, Oct 3 — Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin ordered the country's Defence Ministry to put off arms procurement plans until the 2024 fiscal year so the government could use the budget to help the people.
Sputnik, quoting Thailand's Bangkok Post Monday (October 2) newspaper report, said he wants the budget to be spent on urgent efforts to help the people, while budgets which have already been approved will remain unchanged.
By deferring buying armament, Srettha wishes to redirect the budget for urgent needs, like helping people affected by natural disasters.
Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) commander Phanphakdee Phatthanakul confirmed the government had asked the Armed Forces to pay special attention to dealing with disasters.
Meanwhile, the RTAF will set up a working panel to consider procuring new fighter jets in the 2025 fiscal year.
He clarified the Prime Minister had earlier said if Thailand were to buy any military equipment from other countries, they would have to convince them to buy Thai products as part of the deal in return.
At the same time, Phanphakdee denied information of the RTAF acquiring three of Sweden's Gripen fighter jets soon after the United States refused to sell its F-35A aircraft to Thailand.
The RTAF is not looking forward to procuring fighter jets in the 2024 fiscal year because of the country’s economic situation.
The new jets procurement deals could be considered in the fiscal year 2025, as Phanphakdee said, but there is no certainty whether these would be Gripen or F-16 aircraft. The official said the RTAF would have to replace the F-16 fighter fleet eventually for decommissioning between 2028 and 2031.
— Bernama
