Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a tied-over budget of more than 10 billion baht ( 297 million U.S. dollars) for military procurement, spreading between the current fiscal year and 2012, Thai media reported.

According to The Nation online, of the sum, 4.9 billion baht ( 145.6 million dollars) will be used by the Defence Ministry to buy vehicles for military ordnance, 3 billion baht (89 million dollars) for the Royal Thai Armed Forces to replace decommissioned vehicles and machinery, and the navy gets 989 million baht (29 million dollars) for Seahawk helicopter for anti-submarine warfare.

Another 1.6 billion (48 million dollars) goes for the purchase of three coastal patrol boats.

In another deelopment, the budget of 81 million baht (2.4 million dollars) for purchasing crowd control equipment for police also sailed through the cabinet.

Deputy government spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said a major part of the fund would be spent on buying more than 16,000 anti-bomb shrapnel outfits worth 3,000 baht each with a total value of about 48 million baht.

And another 18 million baht would be used for buying more than 18,000 rubber batons.

(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2009)