House scrutiny of the 22.5-billion-baht budget for buying two submarines has been rescheduled to Friday amid talk of the spending being trimmed or even shelved. The budget has run into a political storm after a committee narrowly voted to keep the budget untrimmed this week.
However, a sub-committee chaired by Sophon Fongngam, an MP of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party, was rocked by a fierce debate yesterday over the procurement deal. Sub-committee member and Pheu Thai MP Yuttapong Charasathien spoke in favour of putting the purchase on hold, saying the money should be spent on improving the economy instead. He said the navy's purchase of one submarine had already been approved and that was enough for now.
The navy, meanwhile, defended the outlay, insisting the subs were vital for protecting the country's maritime security and that the procurement of three submarines was a done deal. It also rejected an accusation that an agreement for the 22.5-billion-baht purchase of the second and third submarines did not stand in law. The navy insisted the deal did not require the signature of Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha despite claims to the contrary by opponents. The sub-committee passed the submarines budget to the main House committee scrutinising the budget for the 2021 fiscal year.
The budget was slated for vetting by the main committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister Santi Promphat yesterday but the debate was postponed until Friday after seven committee members from the Democrat Party opposed it, said committee spokesman Akkaradet Wongpitakrote. The committee is made up of 48 members from the coalition parties and 24 from the opposition bench. For the budget to survive the scrutiny intact it needs at least 36 votes in favour.
Mr Akkaradet confirmed he and six other Democrats felt the submarines purchase should be put on hold but admitted he didn't know if they would vote against it, abstain or simply skip tomorrow's debate. Democrat Party leader Jurin Laksanawisit said yesterday he was confident MPs would find an amicable solution but said he had not yet discussed it with the prime minister.