PUBLISHED: 04: 30 on October 23, 2023.
The package puts the state at a disadvantage, according to the opposition-controlled House committee on national security, which has vowed to thoroughly examine the navy’s choice to take savages in place of submarines it had ordered from Chinese shipbuilders.
A probe will be launched into the decision, according to Rangsiman Rome, committee chairman and Move Forward Party( MFP ) MP, who announced this yesterday. Any commercial changes, he claimed, must be approved by both parties — in this instance, the Chinese builder and the Royal Thai Navy.
He claimed that given that the Chinese shipbuilder had broken the terms of the initial deal, he was baffled as to why the navy had agreed to pay him more money. One billion ringgit more expensive than the underwater the military had ordered is the frigate that it would take in its place.
With the purpose of installing a German-made website in the S26T Yuan-class submarine, the military ordered the underwater again in 2017.
However, the program had to be changed because Germany forbade the installation of its engines on Chinese military technology.
China suggested installing a Taiwanese website in the underwater, but the military declined because the performance of the engine had not yet been established.
The authorities instructed the army to update its procurement strategy after a protracted impasse.
The navy suggested two options: buy a frigate capable of fighting submarines or buy an onshore patrol vessel because the entire purpose of the purchase was to increase Thailand’s marine defense capacity.
Sutin Klungsang, the defense minister, opted for the frigate option because he believed that acquiring one would help the navy achieve its goal of possessing at least eight frigates capable of defending Thailand’s coastal territory.
According to Mr. Rome, the government needs to make clear its stance and explain why it needs a new ship.
He asserted that the power cannot immediately declare that it desperately needs a sub.
Additionally, Mr. Rome advised the army to buy with manufacturers in other nations if it is looking for a ship.