Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam insisted yesterday the submarine procurement deal does not fall under a constitutional requirement that it must secure parliament's approval before it can be signed.
He was rebutting a claim by activist Srisuwan Janya that the signing of the 13.5-billion-baht contract between the navy and China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co (CSOC) could be in violation of Section 178 of the new charter.
Mr Wissanu insisted the deal did not require endorsement from the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), which assumes the function of parliament.
Mr Wissanu explained that not all international agreements fall under Section 178 and legal specialists who examined the navy's submarine scheme agreed it did not require lawmakers' approval.
The section requires international agreements that might affect or have far-reaching implications on national and economic security, trade and investments to be approved by parliament before the agreement is signed.
However, Mr Wissanu said the government would not argue over the issue and would let authorities concerned do their job now that a petition has been lodged with the Office of the Ombudsman. He insisted that those involved in examining the legality of the submarine scheme assured the submarine project was legitimate.
Mr Srisuwan, secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Constitution, said yesterday the latest petition lodged with the Office of the Ombudsman should not be confused with the previous one lodged with the Office of the Auditor-General. He said the fresh one dealt with the constitutionality of the purchase plan and the possibility the deal might be in violation of the budget examination law, while the other focused on possible irregularities in public spending.
According to Mr Srisuwan, the law governing budget examination requires a spending project spanning seven years to be approved by the cabinet within 60 days of the budget bill coming into effect.
The submarine purchase scheme was supposed to be approved by the cabinet between Oct 1 and Nov 30, 2016, but it was endorsed on April 18.