Thaksin Gives Nod to US$71mn Defense Budget Increase

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, September 04, 2003

Thaksin Gives Nod to US$71mn Defense Budget Increase

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Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday agreed to the 3-billion-baht (about 71-million-US dollars) increase of defense budget and the purchase of military aircraft, local press reported on Wednesday.

The prime minister said he favored the increase of defense budget to 20 billion baht a year for arms purchase and upgrade during 2005 to 2013.

At Tuesday's meeting on the structure of the armed forces at the Government House, Thaksin also nodded the army's plan to buy 33 new Black Hawk helicopters by 2009 and an air force proposal to upgrade F16 and F5 jet fighters.

He gave green light to all arms procurement proposals for the years from 2005 to 2013, which were submitted by the Supreme Command and the three armed forces.

"Whatever they want to buy, even if it costs billions of baht, I am willing to support if they have good reasons and supporting facts," Bangkok Post quoted Thaksin from an unnamed source as saying.

The new helicopters would be used for logistics and drug suppression, replacing UH1H and Bell 212 helicopter now in use.

Thaksin stressed that any aircraft purchase by the air force must be reasonably priced and of practical use.

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