Srettha Thavisin, the prime minister, and defense minister Sutin Klungsang have defended the planned acquisition of a warship made in China to exchange dreadful submarines that the military had ordered in 2017, calling it the best course of action.
Mr. Srettha, who was speaking for the first time about the proposed transformation deal, insisted that it wouldn’t risk the nation, a position shared by Mrs. Sutin.
The top stated that he anticipated positive developments and the ship deal’s progress. Mr. Srettha requested that the Defense Ministry continue working on the negotiations with Beijing.
Mr. Sutin said he was prepared to explain the navy’s decision to buy a frigate rather than scuttle, which may involve spending an additional one billion baht to handle, downplaying mounting criticism of the proposed switch.
The defense secretary announced on Monday that every aspect of the planned change had been examined, including the order contract’s legal terms.
He said,” I believe it’s the best course of action given the circumstances.”
In 2017, the military ordered the S26T Yuan-class underwater with plans to add a German-built engine. The program had to be changed, though, because Germany would never permit the installation of its engines on a military vehicle made in China.
China proposed installing a Taiwanese website in the underwater, but the army rejected the idea. The state ordered the army to update its sourcing strategy after a impasse.
The navy suggested two options: purchase a frigate capable of fighting submarines or buy an onshore patrol vessel in line with Thailand’s plan to increase its coastal defense capacity. The ship was chosen by the Defense Ministry at a cost of 1 billion baht more than the underwater.
According to Mr. Sutin, a House committee on federal security led by the major opposition Move Forward Party was scheduled to meet with him to discuss the purchase change. He declared that he was delighted to describe the new arrangement.
According to the secretary, the navy’s rank and file recognized the benefits of the change, which was not made hastily as some have claimed.
Beijing did not violate the agreement with the army, Mr. Sutin continued, so the government would not be unfairly benefited by the purchase switch. He explained that it was a government-to-government( G2G ) agreement that took into account the status of bilateral relations and strategic cooperation.
He added that the Defence Ministry will now be handling negotiations with Beijing and that” we can’t focus entirely on the legal condition of a buy.”
Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, a former member of the House committee reviewing the national expenditure budget for the previous fiscal year, said he was perplexed by the defense minister’s decision to change an existing deal rather than delete it. The government believed that it was preferable to leave with something rather than come apart empty-handed.
According to him,” If they ( Beijing ) can’t deliver, they must be fined, hand over a refund, and possibly face blacklist.”
According to laws, the government may start over with the acquisition of the ship and receive a full payment for any payments it has made.
The defense minister cannot make this( frigate acquisition plan ) on his own, he claimed.
The navy, according to Mr. Somchai, has a lot of explaining to do in regards to the claim that it spent nearly 9 billion baht on building infrastructure to accommodate the now-defunct submarine project, which includes the 7 & nbsp, billion billion Baht deposit on the 17-billion Baha’i submarine.