Navy: Country Needs Submarine

BANGKOK, Aug 24 (TNA) -- The Royal Thai Navy defended its project to procure a submarine, saying it was vital for national defense. Navy chief-of-staff Adm Sitthiporn Matkasem said the navy was procuring a submarine in accordance with its national defense strategy and incomplete information about the procurement project might be politically motivated. VAdm Thaloengsak Sirisawat, director-general of the Navy Operations Department, said the country needed enough resources to protect its sovereignty and maritime routes in the event of a maritime territorial dispute or clash in the South China Sea. The submarine would be delivered in six years, its cost of 22.50 billion baht was 0.093% of the total value of the Thai maritime interest and its installment next year amounted to only 3 billion baht, he said. VAdm Prachachart Sirisawat, deputy navy chief-of-staff and navy spokesman, dismissed the report that the submarine procurement was not a government-to-government contract. The misinformation from a House representative caused damage to the navy and payment for the procurement was divided into seven-year-long installments. The navy would not pay one lumpsum for the new submarine, he said. (TNA)