The Thai military says it wants to delay by three years a plan to buy eight fighter jets from the United States because it has run out of money. The cost of the planes, about $400 million dollars, has risen because the Thai currency, the baht, has fallen in value against the dollar since July. As Enver Solomon reports from Bangkok, the economic slump in Thailand has forced the military to rethink its defence strategies:

When the Thai military agreed to purchase the fighter jets last June, the deal was hailed as a major step on the road to modernising the country's armed forces.

At the time the military was also pressing the Americans to include a range of advanced missiles in the deal.

Like many of their partners in South East Asia, over the last ten years Thai defence officials have been on a spending spree.

In August, the navy unveiled its new aircraft carrier, the first to be owned by a south-east Asian country.

But with Thailand facing a deepening economic crisis, the armed forces now have much less money to spend. Short of cash, the military had no choice but to delay the purchase of eight fighter jets from the United States.

The price of the planes, about $400 million, is now much higher because the Thai baht has lost more than 40% of its value against the dollar since July.

Military officials had considered finding another buyer to sell the planes on to, but this had proved to be too difficult.

The economic crisis is clearly pressing the armed forces to rethink their strategies. The government has already made huge cuts to its defence budget as part of efforts to meet its austerity plans.