Council of State to have final say on Nasa research
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The Council of State will have a final say on the use of U-tapao air base for the Nasa weather research, Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit said on Friday.
“The legal experts should be consulted on the issue,” he said.
Yongyuth said he was uncertain whether the Cabinet would debate the issue next Tuesday because the government was obliged to await for the Council of State to draw conclusion.
He said the government would not risk causing untold damage if it had erred on the issue.
Government leaders, including Science Minister Plopprasop Suraswadee and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, have insisted the issue was purely about a scientific research without any bearing on security affairs.
But critics, including Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, voice their concern for security impacts because the research would take place at the air base, seen as a strategic location for the region.
The government and its critics lock horns over whether the issue should be debated in Parliament due to security implications as per Article 190 of the Constitution.
The research is scheduled to commence in August. And parliamentary debate can not take place until the next session convenes later.
