Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and air force commander Chalit
Pukpasuk yesterday denied a Moscow Times report that the air force
had agreed to purchase a squadron of jet fighters, worth US$500
million, from a Russian manufacturer. Mr Thaksin said in Sukhothai
yesterday that Thailand was not committed to buying SU-30 jets from
Russia but admitted that the two countries had already signed a
letter of discussion on the issue.
He said the two countries needed to discuss more details and
defended the letter as a normal practice to record what had been
discussed.
ACM Chalit said the air force was keeping its options open and no
decision was likely to be made before March or April next
year.
``We're not only considering Russia's SU-30 MKs, but also Sweden's
JAS 39 Gripens, the US-made F-16 C/Ds, and the F-18 jet fighters,
the planned procurement of which had already been scrapped,'' he
said.
ACM Chalit said the new squadron would replace the air force's
ageing F-5Es.
``The new planes must be multi-task aircraft that can support army
and naval operations,'' he said.
The air force would select the model and forward its decision for
government consideration. The decision was likely to be made in
March or April next year.
``The prime minister will not impose his ideas on us. I think he
knows its best to let the air force handle the matter,'' said the
air force chief.
Mr Thaksin and ACM Chalit made the comments after a security
analyst, Panitan Wattanayagor, called on the government to clarify
if Thailand was planning a military and political shift from the
United States, its long-time ally, to Russia.
The call from Mr Panitan, a political science lecturer at
Chulalongkorn University, came after the Moscow Times reported on
Monday that Russia had signed a preliminary agreement to sell
US$500 million worth of SU-30 MK military aircraft to Thailand. The
signing took place last week in Malaysia during President Vladimir
Putin's visit, it said.
Mr Thaksin said the newspaper report was inaccurate.
Mr Putin, who was in Malaysia for an Asean summit, also witnessed
the signing of a visa exemption agreement between Thailand and
Russia. The deal makes Thailand the first Asean country to be party
to such an agreement with Russia.
According to the Moscow Times, Thailand originally agreed to buy
Russian jets last year but put off the deal after the tsunami hit
the region on Dec 26.
An executive of Irkut, manufacturer of SU-30 fighter jets, was
quoted by the newspaper as saying that a memorandum of
understanding also included an offer to deliver a number of
helicopters to Thailand, a ``normal bonus'' Moscow had offered in
its deals with Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and China.
Mr Panitan said the prices of the Russian jets might be competitive
but they could cause maintenance problems since the air force
lacked the expertise or know-how on Russian aircraft
technology.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/20Dec2005_news10.php
