ASEAN Defense: Prayuth’s Tantrums hurting Thailand’s attempt to keep up with rest of ASEAN on national security

/ July 30, 2011

Thailand at the heart of Southeast Asia.....but with its military chief polarizing the country into fractions

The Thai army chief, Prayuth, is known for throwing tantrums in his attempt to orchestrate Thai politics-on behalf of Prem, known for his long devout to the divide and rule concept.

Commanding Thailand‘s military is not an easy task. Thailand, on the main land Southeast Asia faces both threat from China and Vietnam’s ground forces. Thailand, as the geographic central point, also sees its air space as a critical path. Then Thailand’s capital Bangkok, at the boxed in bottom point of the Gulf of Siam, is also a country that needs to focus on its navy.

  • In the whole of Southeast Asia, there is no other country that faces the type of challenges Thailand is facing, when it comes to national security.

A few weeks ago, a website ranked Thailand as having the 19th place strongest military, globally. And immediately, most of Thailand’s ultra-nationalist website, were packed with talk about how Thailand is in good hands under Prayuth, and how the Abhisit government have been right in devoting so much money to modernize Thailand’s military.

However, the problem with the ultra-nationalist Thais, is that they exists mostly isolated a “Shell” called Thailand.

Indeed, Indonesia, already ranked as more powerful than Thailand in terms of military power, according the same website that ranked Thailand 19th, is planning to purchase modern submarines from S.Korea. Malaysia, ranked at about 24th, is planning to up-grade its air force, potentially with the globe’s best, being the Euro Fighters. Then Vietnam, with mostly old equipment, but its generals and soldiers are battle hardened.

Then China and India, are ranked among the top in global military power, with the USA as the global most military powerful country-and the Pacific Waters, is a resource and trade rich region-with many disputes flash points.

  • But national security is not just about external threat and challenges, it is also about internal cohesion.

Thailand had been in a long crisis, with the roots of the problem deep beneath the surface. But the crisis gradually built-up since the 2006 coup that ended in the Bangkok massacre of about 100 people. At the center of all of that, is the Thai military and the Bangkok’s ultra-nationalist and ultra-elitist ruling class.

Earlier this month, in Thailand, there was an election, seeing that Bangkok’s ultra-nationalist and ultra-elite rulers loosing power in Thailand.

But to some national security expert, the election result, bodes ill for Thailand’s national security position-because it showed how, internally, divided Thailand is.

The Thai crisis, have very much pitched the people of Bangkok against the Thais of E-Sarn and the North region-where, the Thai military have been beefing up its presence in the two region-as a way to counter balance the Thais in both region. The election result, as many military analysts have pointed out, with both region about 80% to 90% voting against Bangkok based elites and nationalist, have high-lighted the “Internal” difficulties in Thailand relating to national security.

Then in the central plain and Bangkok itself, opposition to Bangkok’s dominance is also very clear, with only Southern Thailand, throwing its support to Bangkok’s elite dominance.

What many national security analysts have been reporting back to their country’s intelligence apparatus, however, also relates to the Thai army chief Prayuth-called a “Hot Head” by Bangkok Post, a newspaper here in Thailand.

Details are not that crucial here, as Prayuth, is known to make “Outburst of Comments” regularly.

  • However, all the comments points to a Thai army chief who have not admitted that the election result is a “Defeat” of the Thai military, when it comes to internal Thailand-where before the election, Prayuth, made successive, highly charged, pleas to the Thais to vote for the Bangkok’s nationalist and elitist rulers.

To many intelligence analysts, the bottom line, with each new Prayuth emotional utterances, is a confirmation that the challenge to Thailand’s national security, that is emerging from the externalities of Thailand-is not being adequately met.

One intelligence analysts told Thai Intel, that the trend looks negative for Thailand’s national security position.

And that is namely because as Prayuth continues to dig deeper and deeper into Thailand’s internal situation, and causing havoc to Thailand overall-while other countries in the region are fast getting their national security act together.

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