New sub can be 'ready in three years'
The confirmation came following the cabinet's approval of an amendment to the submarine procurement, including a switch from German-made engines to Chinese-made ones. Adm Jirapol said Thailand and China would draft a new contract.
The Thai attorney-general will then have to approve it before the two sides agree. After that a new timeframe of about 1,200 days will come into effect, and the ship-building will finish ahead of the expected deadline in three years.
Another key issue is crew readiness as with the project has already been stalled for nearly three years, and some personnel initially assigned for the submarine have since been promoted or reassigned, he noted.
Adm Jirapol also confirmed plans to procure two frigates, also approved by the cabinet, although funding is currently available for only one, he added.
The navy chief also commented on Cambodia's seemingly closer ties with the United States, saying Thailand must monitor this.
"International relations can change at any time, depending on how countries want to safeguard their own interests," he said, adding Thailand must be mindful of its own strategic positioning.
Addressing reports the US might be granted the use of the Phangnga naval base, Adm Jirapol simply said Thailand welcomes visits from all friendly nations without conditions, and ties between the two nations were strong. Phangnga base is small, he noted, but with plans afoot to expand naval capabilities in the Andaman Sea, questions have arisen over who would provide the support for that, said Adm Jirapol.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bangkok Post
21 minutes ago
- Bangkok Post
Italy Awards Top Honours to Khunying Patama and Dr Somsak
Italy has bestowed two of its highest national honours on two prominent Thai figures in recognition of their exceptional contributions to international relations, philanthropy, and the strengthening of cultural and economic ties between Italy and Thailand. The Italian Embassy in Bangkok recently hosted a distinguished reception to confer the honours on Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul and Dr Somsak Leeswadtrakul. The event, attended by ambassadors, senior diplomats, business leaders, and prominent figures in Thai society, celebrated the couple's outstanding contributions to bilateral relations, philanthropy, and international cooperation. Khunying Patama, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), President of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), Chairperson of Center for Morality Promotion (Public Organization), Chairperson of Cultural Promotion Fund, Department of Cultural Promotion, Ministry of Culture, Chair of the Board of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra (TPO), was awarded the title of Commendatore dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic – OMRI). Her husband, Dr Somsak, a leading business tycoon and philanthropist, received the title of Commendatore dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia (Commander of the Order of the Star of Italy – OSI). The OMRI, Italy's highest-ranking civilian order, is bestowed upon individuals who have rendered outstanding service to the Republic in the fields of literature, the arts, economy, public service, and social, philanthropic, and humanitarian activities. The OSI, meanwhile, is granted to foreign nationals who have made significant contributions to promoting friendly relations and cooperation with Italy. Italian Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Paolo Dionisi, presided over the reception. In his remarks, the ambassador praised both honourees for their lifelong commitment to excellence and cross-cultural dialogue. "You [Khunying Patama] have already left a tremendous legacy for Thailand and I'm amazed at how energetic and active you still are despite all the past successes you've reached," the ambassador noted. Beyond her support for both domestic and international sports, she has also been deeply involved in cultural, musical, and academic , as well as supporting numerous charitable causes both within Thailand and internationally. Her remarkable dedication is an inspiration to us all. he said, adding that her support was instrumental in Italy's successful bid to host the upcoming Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. "It's hard for me to express in words how much I respect your work and your great life and work achievements, and I think that Thailand's blooming image and respectability abroad owe a lot to you and successful entrepreneurs like you," he said. "Like your husband, you managed to perfectly blend together both economic vision and political acumen, and you also recognised, in your decade-long career, the key value of people-to-people connections, which really transcend cultural differences and borders," he added. In recognising Dr Somsak, the ambassador noted his exceptional achievements in Thailand's steel industry and his steadfast support for Italian business interests, particularly his facilitation of projects by Italian industrial group Danieli. "You are a real steel magnate, having built an empire that spans the steel industry from downstream to upstream, and one of the largest steel industries in Southeast Asia. In addition, you founded businesses in construction, real estate, and property development," he said. The ambassador noted that although Dr Somsak maintains a low profile, he is generous in supporting various charitable causes, not only within the Catholic community in Thailand but also extending his aid to other religious groups, which were highlighted as testaments to his commitment to social progress. "You are a man of profound vision and skill, but also a living proof of the importance of cultivating both economic and social ties alike in international relations," said Ambassador Dionisi. "I think that Italy and Thailand's long and thriving history of friendship depends a lot on characters like you." In receiving their decorations, the couple reaffirmed their commitment to fostering international goodwill, cultural understanding, and sustainable development. In her response, Khunying Patama delivered a heartfelt address, expressing gratitude for the recognition and reaffirming her dedication to strengthening the enduring bond between Italy and Thailand. "Dr Somsak and I are profoundly humbled and grateful to receive these prestigious decorations," she said. "We are deeply moved that these honours have been presented by you, Ambassador Paolo, whose exceptional leadership and genuine love for Thailand have greatly enriched our bilateral relations." She highlighted the power of sport in fostering peace and understanding across cultures, tracing her own passion for sport diplomacy to her early education at St. Francis Xavier Convent School. As Chair of the IOC Culture and Heritage Commission, she pledged continued support for initiatives tied to Milano Cortina 2026, which she described as a celebration of Italy's "beauty, spirit, and rich Olympic tradition." "We humbly dedicate this recognition to our family, our colleagues, and to all who share a belief in using sport to build a better, more united future," Khunying Patama concluded.
Bangkok Post
22 minutes ago
- Bangkok Post
50 envoys to get briefing on landmine breaches
Thailand will on Friday brief more than 50 diplomats from signatories and member states of the Ottawa Convention on repeated landmine incidents along the Thai-Cambodian border, emphasising Phnom Penh's refusal to cooperate in demining operations. The briefing comes ahead of site visits scheduled for tomorrow. Thailand will present documented evidence of mine-related incidents to the international community and push for stronger pressure on Phnom Penh to end the repeated use of anti-personnel landmines, said government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub, speaking on behalf of the government's Ad-Hoc Centre for the Thailand-Cambodia Border Situation. "The use of anti-personnel landmines is a serious breach of the Ottawa Convention, as well as basic humanitarian principles," he said. In a bid to increase international scrutiny, Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has invited over 50 diplomatic missions, primarily from countries that are signatories to the Ottawa Convention, to visit the affected provinces of Ubon Ratchathani and Si Sa Ket tomorrow. The delegation will be briefed by Thai demining teams operating in the border zone and taken to inspect mine clearance activities at Phu Makua, as well as damage sites at Ban Nong Mek and Phum Saron Witthaya School in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district, said Mr Jirayu. Ahead of the planned field visit tomorrow, Thailand will today host a closed-door briefing for foreign ambassadors and military attachés in Bangkok to outline its position and share details of recent incidents, he said. Russ Jalichandra, vice minister for foreign affairs, said the move follows a fresh incident on Tuesday, in which Thai paramilitary forces encountered Cambodian-laid mines while patrolling near Chong Chub-Tamok in Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district, about which formal protests have been lodged through diplomatic channels. The Cambodian government has been urged to cooperate immediately. Mr Russ also revealed that Cambodia rejected Thailand's proposal during previous General Border Committee (GBC) meetings to jointly remove landmines from disputed zones. "This refusal shows a lack of sincerity and undermines regional peace efforts. It also violates the United Nations Charter and the Ottawa Convention," he said. The Royal Thai Armed Forces have confirmed that an Interim Observer Team, composed of military representatives from neutral countries, will conduct independent inspections between Aug 18–20, said Mr Jirayu. Thailand's Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are also coordinating with international mine clearance organisations to evaluate whether humanitarian support to Cambodia should be reassessed in light of Phnom Penh's perceived non-cooperation, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura. He also took aim at Cambodia's domestic information controls, accusing its government of suppressing public access to external media, particularly Thai news outlets. "Cambodian citizens are not the enemy. But they are being denied their right to independent information. The spread of misinformation and fake news by Cambodian state media infringes on previous GBC ceasefire agreements, which committed both sides to reducing tensions," Mr Nikorndej said. He also called on Cambodia to allow open access to global news sources so its citizens "can form their own judgements based on facts". The Thailand-Cambodia Regional Border Committee (RBC) will meet tomorrow to discuss the implementation of the 13-point ceasefire agreement reached on Aug 7 in Malaysia. It will also discuss clearing landmines in disputed areas and cracking down on cross-border scam gangs, said Capt Pharis Wongpensri, commander of the Royal Thai Marine Corps' Trat Task Force.
Bangkok Post
35 minutes ago
- Bangkok Post
Rare earths are definitely China's trump card
China's weaponisation of rare earths has emerged as a major flash point in US-China trade negotiations. These critical materials, especially the high-performance magnets they make possible, are vital components in electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines, industrial robotics, and advanced defence systems. In response to China's strict rare-earths export controls, the United States has quietly lowered tariffs, relaxed export controls on AI chips, and even softened visa restrictions for Chinese students. At the same time, the US is scrambling to secure alternative supplies. In July, the Department of Defense announced a landmark multi-billion-dollar investment package to boost MP Materials, the company behind America's flagship rare-earths project. But what if, despite massive subsidies and years of effort, the US still can't escape its dependence on Chinese rare earths? Japan offers a cautionary tale. In 2010, following a maritime standoff over the Senkaku Islands, China abruptly cut off exports of rare-earth to Japan. In response, the Japanese government pursued a series of strategic measures: investing in Lynas Rare Earths, an Australian producer; boosting domestic research and development in recycling and substitution; forging its own commercial partnerships with Chinese magnet manufacturers; and building strategic stockpiles to cushion future supply shocks. More than a decade later, Japan still sources over 70% of its imports of rare-earths from China. China's rare-earths dominance wasn't built overnight, and it won't be easily eroded. Its strength does not lie in hoarding raw materials, but in the industrial capacity to refine, process, and produce at scale. Today, China controls between 85% and 90% of global rare-earths refining capacity, and produces roughly 90% of the world's high-performance rare-earths magnets. It is the only country with a fully vertically integrated rare-earths supply chain -- from mining to chemical separation to magnet fabrication. China's manufacturing edge has given it not only an industrial lead, but also a technological moat. Between 1950 and 2018, China filed more than 25,000 rare earths-related patents, more than twice the number filed in the US. Decades of hands-on experience in the complex chemistry and metallurgy of rare-earths processing have yielded a depth of expertise that Western firms cannot easily replicate. Moreover, in December 2023, China's government moved to cement its lead, imposing sweeping export bans on the technologies behind rare-earths extraction, separation and magnet production. China's lax environmental regulation has also given its firms a powerful advantage over their Western competitors. In 2002, the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine in California was forced to halt refining operations after a toxic waste spill. By contrast, China's more permissive regulatory environment has allowed rare-earths production to expand rapidly, with fewer delays and far lower costs. Importantly, rare-earths chokepoints are not fixed; they evolve with technology. China understood this, waiting patiently as Western dependence on rare-earths magnets increased exponentially with the global green transition, which created massive demand for EVs and wind turbines. Even if the West succeeds in building a parallel supply chain for today's rare-earths needs, tomorrow's chokepoints may lie elsewhere. Quantum computing, for example, increasingly depends on rare isotopes like ytterbium-171, as well as on elements such as erbium and yttrium. These emerging applications could become the next pressure points, leaving the US and its allies once again racing to catch up. The US therefore must confront an uncomfortable truth: China's dominance in rare earths is likely to endure for the foreseeable future. Defensive strategies like supply-chain diversification may address some vulnerabilities, but true resilience demands an offensive strategy that enhances American leverage. The US still holds many valuable cards. As long as it retains control over technologies or infrastructure that China cannot live without -- be it advanced chips, frontier AI models, and access to the dollar-based financial system -- China has a strong incentive to keep rare earths flowing. For years, though, the US has pursued the opposite course: gradually decoupling and restricting key technology flows to China. Since the first Trump administration, the US playbook has been to blacklist leading Chinese tech firms and tighten export controls on cutting-edge chips. While these measures initially hobbled Chinese firms such as Huawei and ZTE, slowing the country's AI development, they have proved difficult to enforce. Riddled with loopholes, they created opportunities for enforcement arbitrage. As outgoing US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo conceded in December 2024, "Trying to hold China back is a fool's errand." At the same time, US export controls have galvanized efforts in China to build indigenous alternatives, effectively accelerating the rise of national champions like Huawei. Far from strengthening American leverage over China, US policy is steadily eroding it. If you are Nvidia, losing access to the Chinese market doesn't just mean forfeiting billions in revenue. It means losing influence over the most important AI ecosystem for developers outside the US. Recent policy shifts suggest that this realisation is starting to take hold. The Trump administration's decision to relax restrictions on sales of Nvidia's H20 chips to China signals a move away from blanket bans and toward more calibrated engagement. Counterintuitively, such engagement may be a smarter form of de-risking. The more that China relies on American technology, the more deeply the two sides' supply chains will become entangled, and the harder it will become for China to weaponise its own strategic assets, including rare earths. ©2025 Project Syndicate Angela Huyue Zhang, Professor of Law at the University of Southern California, is the author of 'High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy' (Oxford University Press, 2024) and 'Chinese Antitrust Exceptionalism: How the Rise of China Challenges Global Regulation' (Oxford University Press, 2021).
