Thai Armed Forces

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Ministry of Defense emblem

The Royal Thai Armed Forces ( Thai : กองทัพ ไทย , RTGS : Kong Thap Thai, pronunciation: [ kɔːŋ.tʰáp.tʰai ]) are the armed forces of the Kingdom of Thailand and consist of the armed forces army , navy and air forces with 314,000 active troops and 200,000 Reservists (as of January 2007). These are commanded by the Thai King as Commander in Chief. The defense budget in 2016 was US $ 6.3 billion. In addition to the Vietnamese People's Army, the armed forces of Thailand are the strongest in Southeast Asia.

General

Women also have access to the Thai military, but their career opportunities are limited. There is a two-year military service for men between 18 and 25 years of age. The armed force is primarily a professional army . The king is the commander in chief of the armed forces. In the last few decades, the role of the Thai armed forces has changed from pure national defense to international tasks, for example on missions of the peacekeeping forces of the United Nations . 1,600 Thai soldiers took part in INTERFET in East Timor . From October 2003 to September 2004, Thailand sent 500 soldiers to the Iraq war . In addition, annual multinational maneuvers have been held in Thailand under the name Cobra Gold since 1982, in which soldiers from Thailand, the USA, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea take part.

Most of the equipment used by the Thai military comes from the US, Great Britain and China. Thailand is also linked to the USA in the military sector by numerous bilateral agreements and has received several million US dollars in support payments in recent years. In April 2015, the military government of General Prayut Chan-o-cha decided to increase the defense budget by 7% compared to the previous year, to US $ 6.3 billion . This corresponds to almost 8% of the total budget in Thailand.

management

Formal commanders-in-chief are the Minister of Defense and the Supreme commander of the armed forces, with the commanders-in-chief of the three branches of the armed forces having the greatest influence.

army

Flag of the Royal Army

The Royal Thai Army ( กองทัพ บก ไทย ; [ kɔːŋ tʰáp bòk tʰaj ]) is the oldest part of the armed forces. It was erected in 1874 and consists of 190,000 soldiers. The motto is "For the nation, religions, king and the people" (เพื่อ ชาติ ศาสน์ กษัตริย์ และ ประชาชน). The army also includes the Royal Guard ( ทหาร รักษา พระองค์ ; [ tʰa.hăːn.rák.săː.prá.ʔɔːŋ ]). The army has 282 main battle tanks, 15 light tanks and 970 transport tanks. General Inspector is General Udomdej Sitabutr (since 2014), his deputy is General Chatchai Sarikalya. The Chulachomklao Military Academy in Nakhon Nayok trains the army officer corps .

In 2011, the Thai High Command announced an order for 49 Ukrainian T-84 Oplot main battle tanks . They replace the outdated M41 Walker Bulldog . The first 12 vehicles were delivered in June 2016, the others are on the way. The total price is 7.2 billion baht . You will be assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Battalion of the Royal Guard at Fort Chakkraphongse, ( Prachin Buri ).

In 2017, the Thai High Command announced that it would order up to 150 Chinese VT-4 (MBT3000) main battle tanks . In October 2017, 28 units were delivered and 21 units are being received.

Air Force

Flag of the Royal Thai Air Force

The Royal Thai Air Force ( กองทัพ อากาศ ไทย ; [ kɔːŋ tʰáp ʔaːkàːt tʰaj ]) has existed since 1911 and has a strength of 45,000 soldiers. The Royal Thai Air Force is divided into four divisions , a flight school and some directly subordinate units. Each division is divided into two to three squadrons (wings), which in turn are divided into squadrons .

It is armed with 104 combat aircraft, 30 transport aircraft and 45 helicopters. Various new acquisitions have been made since 2010. Twelve Saab JAS-39 Gripen fighter aircraft , three Saab 340 transport aircraft and three Sikorsky S-92 transport helicopters were purchased.

The commander is Air Chief Marshal Maanat Wongwat.

marine

Flag of the Royal Navy

The Royal Thai Navy ( กองทัพ เรือ ไทย ; [ kɔːŋ.tʰáp.rʉa.tʰai ]) has a strength of 71,000 soldiers. It has an aircraft carrier ( HTMS Chakri Naruebet ), 10 frigates , 4 corvettes , 42 patrol boats and 15 military helicopters . The Navy also includes the Royal Marines with 18,000 soldiers. The main naval base is the Sattahip Naval Base in the Amphoe Sattahip ( Chonburi Province ). Inspector General is Admiral Luechai Rutdit. There are three regional commands:

  1. Gulf of Thailand North
  2. Gulf of Thailand South
  3. Andaman Sea

The Thai Naval Academy has existed since 1952 and is located in Samut Prakan .

Conscription

The military service is for men over 21 years and includes a compulsory service of two years. Which conscripts actually have to do their military service is determined by lot. A quota of young men to be drafted per province must be met. But there is also the option of volunteering for military service, which shortens the duration of compulsory military service to six months. Sons of wealthy families in particular try to avoid military service by enrolling in provinces that are known for having a high number of volunteers. In addition, those who have already completed the voluntary, three-year military education program of the reserve forces (Thai Nak Sueksa Wicha Thahan , literally "students of military studies") are exempt from military service . In 2015, however, the government is considering lifting this exemption because so many boys are taking part that not enough can be called up for actual military service.

Influence in the state

The Thai armed forces have great power and influence in the state. The armed forces own television and radio stations, for example the TV stations Thai TV5 , TGN and BBTV Channel 7 and are involved in the TMB Bank . In addition, numerous airports in Thailand are used both militarily and civilly. Thus additional sources of income are available to the military.

The military intervenes again and again in the country's politics, for example in the 1973 uprising in Thailand . In October 1973, the army shot at demonstrators, killing numerous people. A phase of repression and political cleansing against suspected communists followed. The military governments that followed were short-lived.

From 1988 on, Thailand had an elected government, but it was overthrown in a military coup in 1991. The government of Suchinda Kraprayoon (then Supreme Commander of the Army), which came to power as a result of this coup, was confronted with violent civil protests, which they tried to suppress violently in " Black May " 1992. Shortly afterwards she had to resign. It was not until 1992 that power returned to a civil government.

On September 19, 2006, the caretaker government of Thaksin Shinawatra was overthrown by a military coup led by General Sonthi Boonyaratglin . With this, the Thai military took over political power in the country again after 15 years of civil government. The junta then set up a transitional government that held office for a year. A new constitution was drawn up which was approved by the people in a referendum.

The military took power again on May 22, 2014 after protests . General Prayut Chan-o-cha has been in power since then . New elections can be expected in November 2018 at the earliest.

Web links

Commons : Thai Armed Forces  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ www.globaldefence.net. Retrieved May 31, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Commandeur Royal Thai Army ( Memento from June 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ defense-update.com
  4. ↑ Aporn Deenan: Thailand. In: International Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Routledge, New York / Abingdon (Oxon) 2007, p. 1008.
  5. ^ Thai junta to amend regulations on reserved force conscription. In: Prachatai.com , July 8, 2015.
  6. ↑ Thailand: Military government announces elections. In: Zeit Online. October 10, 2017, accessed November 24, 2017 .