China and Thailand boost strategic ties with new military cooperation plans

The meeting was held between China’s chief of joint staff, Liu Zhenli, and Thailand’s top defence official, Songwit Noonpackdee, during his visit to the Chinese capital.

The two military leaders “reached an important consensus on strengthening strategic communication and deepening cooperation in joint exercises and training”, according to a statement on Thursday.

They also “exchanged views on issues of common concern, such as relations between the two countries and their militaries and the international and regional situation”.

Liu is a member of the Central Military Commission, the highest decision-making body of the People’s Liberation Army.

In a separate meeting with Songwit, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun said ties between the two countries had endured “the change of winds and clouds”.

Songwit replied that the Thai side was willing to closely coordinate with China in multilateral affairs and “jointly safeguard” the security and stability of the region, according to the Chinese defence ministry.

The high-level meetings followed a series of diplomatic activities between China and the Southeast Asian country, which is also a traditional US ally in the region.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Thai counterpart last month and said Thailand was a high priority for Chinese diplomacy in the region. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra also met in February.

The two countries have also deepened defence cooperation in the past decade, especially since the 2014 military coup in Thailand, with China replacing the US to become Thailand’s top arms supplier.

Their joint exercises have appeared to include more comprehensive combat elements since last year, as highlighted by their joint air drill, “Falcon Strike 2024”.

Most recently, the navies of the two countries concluded an exercise last month that focused on counterterrorism tactics and anti-submarine warfare.

While joint exercises and arms sales between the US and Thailand have been scaled back, Washington has ramped up its strategic and defence dialogue with Bangkok in the past few years as Beijing’s influence has expanded in the region.

Thailand has imported a range of weapon systems from China, from armoured vehicles to air-defence systems.

The two countries signed a deal in 2017 for Thailand to buy the first of three Yuan-class submarines from China for 13.5 billion baht (US$412 million).

Bangkok has paid an instalment of 7 billion baht, but production has been stalled since 2022 due to China’s inability to acquire a German engine because of Berlin’s defence export limits.

According to news site Khaosod English, Thai Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said on Tuesday that he would decide by the end of this month whether to accept the submarine with Chinese engines or cancel the contract and lose “80 per cent of the costs of the submarines which have already been paid”.

Citing Wechayachai, the Thai news site also reported that the Thai government had been asked several times by the Chinese ambassador to Bangkok about when it would proceed with the remaining payment for the purchase of the Chinese-made submarines.

Bangkok had previously asked Berlin to reconsider the embargo of its submarine engine, but Germany has rejected the request.

The Star

Asia News Network