Thai Cabinet agrees to have parliamentary rule on NASA issue

BANGKOK, June 26 (TNA) - The Thai Cabinet has agreed on a parliamentary deliberation over a recent request by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to use Thailand's U-tapao Airport for climate studies, in response to the opposition's strong criticisms. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told journalists that the Thai Cabinet initially resolved at its weekly meeting on Tuesday to let NASA use the U-tapao Airport in Thailand's eastern Rayong province as its base to conduct climate studies in East Asia, but the issue would have to pass the Thai Parliament in line with Section 179 of the 2007 Constitution. Yingluck acknowledged although the Council of State recently ruled that the matter does not require any parliamentary approval in line with Section 190(2) of the 2007 Charter, there have remained different opinions and strong accusations from the opposition; thus, her government will forward the issue to the Parliament for a final decision. The Pheu Thai premier explained that the NASA request to use the U-tapao Airport started during the tenure of the previous Democrat Party-led government and her Pheu Thai Party-led administration and the Royal Thai Armed Forces have not made any legal commitment related to the issue. The prime minister noted that the verification by the Thai Parliament could delay the proposed research project and, probably, prompt NASA to cancel it this year, as such the climate studies normally happen during the monsoon season when weather conditions are promising for the studies, and would be a loss of opportunities for Thailand's technological development, asking whether the opposition would take any responsibility if the proposed project was later proved to be free of irregularities. According to the prime minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been assigned to explain the situation to the United States and she hopes Washington will understand and respect the Thai decision. Premier Yingluck made it clear that future decisions on other foreign research projects proposed to Thailand would be based on Section 190 of the Constitution. (TNA)