(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — China has reportedly offered Indonesia the Type 052D destroyer at a discounted price, provided that the Southeast Asian nation agrees to purchase the S26T Yuan-class submarine, which was originally intended for Thailand.
According to the international defense portal Janes, the discounted offer for the Type 052D destroyer is the latest effort by the Chinese shipbuilder China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) to secure Indonesia’s purchase of the S26T submarine.
This offer emerged amid CSSC’s second meeting with Indonesian Ministry of Defense officials to discuss the sale of the Yuan-class submarine.
Janes reported that the second meeting took place on July 4 in Jakarta.
During this meeting, CSSC also offered Indonesia a modification package for the S26T submarine to launch YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles.
Last week, senior CSSC officials were reported to have visited Jakarta in their efforts to sell the S26T diesel-electric submarine, initially ordered by Thailand, to Indonesia.
CSSC representatives aimed to demonstrate to the Indonesian Ministry of Defense that the S26T submarine could still be modified to meet the Indonesian Navy’s requirements.
The S26T Yuan-class submarine was originally intended for Thailand, but the sale was canceled after prolonged negotiations due to engine issues.
According to previous reports by Janes, Chinese shipbuilding officials assured the Indonesian Ministry of Defense that they would not face the same export restrictions experienced by their previous customer, the Royal Thai Navy.
Chinese officials stated that they could equip the S26T submarine with engines from vendors of their customer’s choice, including the German engine manufacturer MTU.
Additionally, the S26T submarine offered to Indonesia will be equipped with an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system.
Thailand was supposed to receive a Chinese-built submarine this year but canceled the order after Beijing failed to meet Bangkok’s demand to equip the submarine with German-made engines.
Thailand signed a contract with China in 2017 to acquire a Yuan-class S-26T submarine worth US$350 million (RM1.5 billion), which was expected to be delivered either this year or next.
The submarine, which Thailand was supposed to receive, is said to be 50 percent complete.
The procurement contract faced uncertainty because Bangkok insisted that its first submarine be equipped with German-made MTU396 engines, as agreed in the contract.
Beijing could not fulfill this requirement due to an EU arms embargo prohibiting military equipment or component exports to China.
As a resolution, Beijing proposed using its domestically developed CHD 620 submarine engine, manufactured by Henan Diesel Engine.
China reportedly agreed to replace the submarine intended for Thailand with a frigate or two patrol vessels.
According to a source in the Thai Navy cited by the Bangkok Post, China had already agreed to supply a frigate or two patrol vessels instead of the initially promised submarine. — DSA