Defense Minister claims that a revised sourcing plan that includes exchange trade needs to be taken into account.
PUBLISHED: 21 May 2024 at 21: 15
Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang stated on Tuesday that any tussles between a Royal Thai Navy staff and its Chinese counterpart regarding the purchase of an S26T Yuan-class submarine are going to take one or two weeks to settle.
At this point, he added, the most recent findings from the negotiating board must still be treated as private as both sides have jointly agreed.
He urged all parties who wanted to learn more about the agreements to be calm and hold off until a conclusion is reached, perhaps in four to eight weeks.
We do n’t intend to reveal anything to the public, but we should never say too much, as doing so could give us some bargaining leverage, according to Mr. Sutin. I firmly believe that this will come to an end well.
He asked the opposition, in particular, to delay until it is the right time for the authorities to respond to all inquiries it has raised over the underwater purchasing.
A potential business trade is now being incorporated into the package, which may cause a longer wait, so the minister said he could not say when the effects may be ready for submission to the case.
A fresh requirement has been established by the Pheu Thai-led state for any new military equipment purchasing tasks to be accompanied by a trade deal agreement.
China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co ( CSOC ) was given the contract to construct the submarine for 13.5 billion baht as part of a government-to-government agreement with Thailand.
Construction apparently was halfway through its completion when it was delayed by the Covid- 19 pandemic, which was then put on hold as a result of the engine issue.
A German-made gasoline engine was the terms of the initial agreement signed in May 2017.
The strategy however changed after Germany turned down the engine’s offer to sell it to China because it is a military/defence material.