The comment followed an unconfirmed report that Thailand had asked China to support the construction of such a centre.

Prawit said Thailand has a policy to allow prospective countries from which it buys weapons to establish repair centres here, but only with the country’s involvement.

This would help speed up repairs so that damaged weapons could be fixed quickly and become usable again.

Deputy Defence Minister General Udomdej Sitabutr, speaking at an army workshop on development of the country’s defence industry, said that the government had a clear policy to build a weapon repair centre.

A committee would be set up to oversee the task, he said. The work could be the sole operation by the state, a joint venture between the state and a private entity, or a private entity’s investment, he said.

But if they were from overseas, the matter would have to be proposed to Cabinet for approval first as some related laws would have to be amended the clear the way for the project.

Udomdej said it was Prawit’s policy to expedite development of the industry to support the state’s needs for weapons, as well as for commercial purposes, by this year.

This, he added, would help relieve the budgetary burdens from sole imports of weapons and their parts, creating opportunities for development of technology in Thailand.

Udomdej said the army and other units under the ministry had been instructed to come up with plans for weapons use in the next five years so that their long-term needs could be addressed and met.

The proposed cooperation with foreign countries, Udomdej said, would be realised by April. China and Ukraine are the prospective countries Thailand is now working with, he added.