Srisaman, 'Sutin' has not yet signed the amendment to the contract for the Chinese submarine, explaining that it is still stuck with the law, accepting the G2G purchase, and forbidding lawsuits. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister ordered for details, carefulness, and being able to explain to society. He did not say whether it was in time for 'Big Dung's' era or not. He is confident that the armed forces are ready to explain to the 68 Budget Committee about the purchase of fighter jets and submarines, nothing complicated. Mr. Suthin Khlangsaeng, Minister of Defense, confirmed that he has not signed the amendment to the contract for the purchase of Chinese submarines. As for the obstacles that prevented the signing, he explained that the Prime Minister's working group is currently looking at the final steps. He believes that he will soon discuss it because when the working group has finished looking at it, they will make an appointment to conclude. As for whether it will be submitted to the cabinet meeting in tim e for July, Mr. Sutin said that he could not say yet, but we would like to do it as quickly as possible. Right now, we are expediting it. When asked whether the Council of State will have to review the legal issues before signing, Mr. Sutin said there are some minor ones. We have to clear up the legal issues and prepare various explanations for society. This is an important matter. When asked again whether the Council of State would have to look at the law, as the government-to-government procurement contract stipulates that lawsuits against each other are prohibited, Mr. Suthin admitted that this is also a part of it. Whether to proceed or cancel, we will have to look at what laws are involved, both their laws and our laws, including the interpretation of the agreement, which has many clauses that need to be interpreted in detail. The Prime Minister said that this matter must be detailed, thorough, and explainable to society. Therefore, it may be a little slow, but let it be complete and perfect. Most imp ortantly, the Prime Minister is concerned about explaining to society, and there are two types of explanations prepared. Whichever type comes out, it will be prepared. As for whether the submarine purchase will be completed in time for the current Navy Commander, Mr. Sutin said that he is not sure. In fact, we want it to be as fast as possible. There is still a lot of time before he retires, several more months. Mr. Sutin also mentioned the preparation for explaining to the Special Committee to consider the draft of the 2025 Fiscal Year Budget Act for the military on July 10th, saying that there was no preparation because it is something that must be done every year. The Ministry of Defense, through the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry and the Budget Office of the Ministry of Defense already have experience. It was seen that there was an appointment to talk on Friday-Saturday, confirming that there is readiness to explain. As for the clarification on the budget for purchasing submarines and fighter jets, Mr. Sutin said that he had prepared to clarify this matter. There was nothing complicated. The fighter jets were purchased because they were expired. As for the submarines, they were in the negotiation stage. There would be an explanation as follows. The team that went to clarify had a good understanding of this matter and could provide an explanation. He also emphasized that in the procurement of fighter jets, the first decision had to listen to the opinions of the Air Force because they were the users. In some matters, the opinions of the ministry had to be listened to, giving additional thoughts and observations. As for whether to review the lessons from the past that gave the military too much power to make decisions, such as submarines, Mr. Sutin admitted that these things are lessons that are constantly being learned. He believes that every branch, when purchasing weapons or mega projects, must be careful about what has happened in the past, which has already been emphasized. Source: Thai News Agency