Submarine purchase, royal barge procession top Navy chief’s agenda

The new Royal Thai Navy commander-in-chief said his two top priorities are to complete the long-delayed procurement of a submarine and to ensure the royal barge procession is a resounding success.

In an interview with Nation TV on Thursday, Admiral Jirapol Wongwit said his first job will be to ensure the procession of the sparkling royal barges down the Chao Phraya River is grand and 100% safe.

His Majesty the King is scheduled to ride a royal barge in the spectacular parade to Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) to present offerings to monks on October 27. The event is being held to mark His Majesty’s 72nd brithday.

The Navy boss said the Navy will ensure that security measures do not take away from the grandeur of the ceremony.

Jirapol has taken over from Admiral Adung Phan-iam, who retired at the end of last month.

As for his second more important job, Jirapol said it would be the procurement of the submarine from China. He said that despite his predecessor’s hard work, the deal still remains uncompleted.

He added that the project is now awaiting the decision of Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who has taken over from the previous defence chief, Sutin Klungsang.

“The defence minister has just take office, just like me,” he said, adding that he was ready to work on the project and should meet Phumtham in the next week or two.

While saying that the final decision would lie in the hands of the defence minister, Jirapol insisted that submarines were essential for protecting Thailand’s territorial waters.

He said the procurement process has been stalled for two or three years already, and any further delays would affect other plans and projects of the Navy and even Thailand’s military might.

The admiral added that the country actually needs four submarines to support its territorial water defence and at least eight frigates to defend Thai territory on both the Andaman and Gulf coasts.

The Navy initaly planned to purchase three submarines from China but reduced it to just one after the shipbuilder failed to supply a German engine as stated in the contract.

The Navy later agreed to accept a China-made engine and was in the process of amending the contract when Sutin lost his job due to the Constitutional Court’s ousting of prime minister Srettha Thavisin.

Jirapol said it is far too early to tell whether the procurement contract will be cancelled due to China’s failure to fit the vessel with a German engine, adding that the project will be reviewed based on legal principles.

The submarine cannot be fitted with the German-made MTU 396 engine due to EU export sanctions on China.