Rejected by Thailand, China Now Attempts to Sell Yuan-Class S26T Submarine to Indonesia

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — Senior officials from the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) have reportedly visited Jakarta once again in their efforts to sell the S26T diesel-electric submarine, originally ordered by Thailand, to Indonesia.

According to the international defense portal Janes, the officials from the Chinese shipbuilding company were present at Indonesia’s Ministry of Defense a few days ago to present information about the submarine.

CSSC officials aimed to explain to the Indonesian Ministry of Defense that the S26T submarine can still be modified to meet the Indonesian Navy’s requirements.

The presentation by CSSC was attended by senior officials from the Indonesian Ministry of Defense and officers from the Indonesian Navy’s submarine operations command, who participated online.

CSSC was initially supposed to sell the S26T Yuan-class submarine to Thailand, but the deal was canceled after prolonged negotiations between the two countries due to engine issues.

 

According to Janes, Chinese shipbuilders assured the Indonesian Ministry of Defense that they would not face the export restrictions encountered by their previous customer, the Royal Thai Navy.

The Chinese officials stated that they could equip the S26T submarine with engines from vendors of the customer’s choice, including German engine manufacturer MTU.

 Additionally, to make their offer more attractive to Indonesia, CSSC is also prepared to equip the offered submarine with YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles.

 The S26T submarine offered to Indonesia will also be equipped with an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system.

Thailand was initially set to receive a Chinese-built submarine this year but cancelled the order after Beijing failed to meet Bangkok’s demand for the submarine to be equipped with German-made engines.

Thailand signed a contract with China in 2017 to acquire a Yuan-class S-26T submarine worth $350 million (RM1.5 billion), expected to be delivered either this year or next.

The Chinese-built submarine intended for Thailand is said to be 50 percent complete.

The procurement contract faced uncertainty because Bangkok insisted that its first submarine be equipped with the German-made MTU396 engine, as stipulated in the contract.

Beijing could not equip the Thai submarine with the MTU396 engine due to an EU military embargo that prohibits exporting military equipment or components to China.

 As an alternative, Beijing proposed using its domestically produced CHD 620 submarine engine, developed by Henan Diesel Engine.

China reportedly agreed to replace the submarine intended for the Southeast Asian country with a frigate or two patrol vessels.

 

According to a source in the Royal Thai Navy, China had already agreed to supply a frigate or two patrol vessels in place of the submarine.

Thai media reports indicated that both countries reached an agreement last June, which would see Thailand’s first submarine equipped with the Chinese-made CHD 620 diesel-electric engine.

However, the fall of Thailand’s military-led government under General Prayut Chan-o-cha seems to have changed the government’s decision on the submarine.

The current Southeast Asian government, led by civilian Prime Minister Srettha Thaivisin, appears to have reversed the previous leadership’s decision to use Chinese-made engines in their submarine.

Thailand now insists on not accepting a submarine equipped with Chinese-made engines. — DSA