The Thai junta on Tuesday defended $393 million earmarked for a Chinese submarine, batting back criticism of the secrecy of the deal, its cost and the questionable utility of the warship.
The submarine sale is the latest defence deal between Beijing and Bangkok, who have grown ever closer since Thailand's 2014 coup.
Historically the Southeast Asian kingdom has been a major purchaser of western arms, especially from its traditional Cold War ally the United States.
But since the coup, which strained ties with the West, there has been a run of windfalls for China with Thailand scooping up several dozen Beijing-built tanks and inking plans to buy three submarines in total -- a purchase that will amount to $1 billion.
Talks are also underway for China to construct a multi-million dollar armaments and military hardware repair facility in Thailand.
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