The House’s budget scrutiny committee has postponed its decision until August 31 on the navy’s plan to buy two more submarines worth 22.5 billion baht from China, according to local news on Wednesday.
The controversial purchase of the two submarines in times of economic crisis is facing heavy criticisms from the opposition, some fraction within the coalition, and the public.
Local news said the committee postponed their decision since the Democrat Party said earlier on Wednesday morning that they will not vote to approve the purchase.
Santi Promphat, Deputy Finance Minister, said the committee will have to postpone its decision for 2-3 days in order to wait for more clarification on the purchase process from the navy.
Experts said that since the Democrat Party is deciding not to back the deal, the government is now giving them more time to lobby for more support from the coalition.
Santi said the committee needs more time to hear what the navy has to say since the purchase has already been approved by the cabinet and funding has already been allocated for it from the fiscal 2020 budget which means that everything is according to the law.
“We have to give the navy time to talk with the trading partner while the coalition and the opposition will have to discuss on how to proceed since the project is part of the 2020 fiscal budget,” he said.
“Even Myanmar has one and they are buying four more and this was the one thing that the committee agreed on,” he added.
Santi said cancelling the deal is not an option because the cabinet and the parliament have already approved the purchase.
Both Santi and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said on Wednesday that they are not concerned with the Democrat Party’s decision not to vote for the purchase.
They are also weighing options for the navy to delay the purchase as the deal cannot be cancelled.
The budget committee consists of 72 members, 48 from the coalition and 24 from the opposition. Of the 72, 18 are cabinet members, 15 are from Pheu Thai, 13 from Palang Pracharath, 7 from Bhumjaithai Party, 6 from Move Forward Party, and 6 from the Democrat Party. The smaller parties have 1 seat each and 7 in total.
The pro-military coalition will require more than 36 votes to gain approval for the navy’s purchase.
Critics are saying that the money could be used to fund more relief measures for citizens and small businesses that have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent nationwide lockdown.
The private sector expects 8 million people to be out of a job because of the pandemic, with the Bank of Thailand anticipating a recession of at least 8 per cent in 2020.
“This is not for anyone else but for the country, the Thai people, and the protection of our natural resources,” Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha said with regards to the purchase before the House’s decision came out on Wednesday.
“It is not for going to war with anyone but it is a matter of strategy… and the budget is from the navy’s budget and the Defence Ministry’s budget so it is up to the committee to decide… Everyone involved will have to be responsible for it in the future, not only me,” he added.
Last week, the House’s subcommittee in charge of the 2021 fiscal budget bill approved the procurement.
The votes were initially tied at 4-4, but Supol Fongngam, the chairman of the committee from the ruling Palang Pracharath Party, eventually voted in favour of the procurement, ending the vote at 5-4.
The approval led to an uproar from the opposition and the public which prompted the subcommittee and the Royal Thai Navy to come out and defend their decision for the purchase this week.
The navy said they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to buy three submarines from China. The purchase of the first submarine was done via the use of the 2017 fiscal budget and the submarine is being delivered in 2023.
One of the subcommittee’ members, Yutthapong Jarassathian, a Pheu Thai Party MP, said last Friday that the MOU does not have a clause which stated that Thailand has to buy the remaining two submarines. This led to the initial tie of 4-4 until Supol cast his decisive vote.
The subcommittee said on Monday that the cabinet has already approved the navy’s plan and last Friday’s vote was simply an agreement for the navy to resume its deal with China.
Supol said the navy has already sent back 4.13 billion baht from its 2020 fiscal budget to help with COVID-relief measures and that the navy would be paying for the procurement in instalments via the use of its own fiscal budgets in the coming years.
He added that many neighboring countries also have submarines which are in line with the navy’s arguments that they need to buy the submarines to increase the strength of Thailand’s submersible fleet.
The navy said on Tuesday that Vietnam, which is one of the disputed parties in the South China Sea conflict, has six submarines while Indonesia has five, Singapore has four, Malaysia has two and Myanmar has one.
Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia and Laos currently do not have any.
Admiral Sittiporn Maskasem, the navy’s chief-of-staff, said that the funding for the procurement will be coming from the navy’s own budget over seven fiscal years from 2020-2026.
Vice Admiral Thalerngsak Sirisawat, the chief of the Operation Department, added that the disputes in the South China Sea could affect Thailand’s interests in the water if the navy is not strong enough.
If approved, the signing of the purchase is set for September.
Anusorn Iemsa-ard, a Pheu Thai spokesman, said on Wednesday that if the government is going ahead with the procurement, the party will organize a street rally against it.
