By Thai Newsroom Reporters
PHEU THAI-ATTACHED DEFENCE Minister Suthin Khlangsang was today (June 20) taken to task over the questionable defence budgeting which allegedly focuses on personnel rather than high-tech weapon systems and equipment to meet today’s warfare challenges.
During the second day of House floor debate on the 2025 budget bill, Move Forward leader Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn charged that the civilian defence minister has virtually performed like a puppet pulled by the armed services or a spokesperson who has merely made excuses on behalf of the armed services and failed to put his defence policies to work as earlier pledged publicly.
According to Wiroj who concurrently chairs the House Armed Services Committee, Suthin has evidently failed to enforce a substantial reduction in the number of army generals, navy admirals and air force marshals whist a huge chunk of defence budget has been earmarked for salaries and entitlement pays for those military top brass members year in, year out.
Compared to 195 million baht in funding for repairs and maintenance of the army’s wheeled armoured personnel carriers, a sum of 550 million baht has been allocated for the army’s fat cats in next fiscal year, Wiroj said.
Whilst the army’s funding for procurement of high-tech weapon systems and equipment has been limited and inadequate, the funding for army personnel, especially inactive army generals, has mostly remained intact, according to the Move Forward MP.
The army’s early-retirement scheme under which the number of inactive army generals would be substantially cut from today’s 1,200-plus to less than 300 has been apparently carried out at a very slow pace and would not bear fruit until 2028, he said.
That the army has earmarked funding for planned procurement of only 10 more drones for use in border surveillance missions has evidently underlined its failure to keep abreast with modern-day warfare in which drones are extensively, decisively deployed, he said.
He insisted the army not only deploy surveillance drones but attack drones armed with missiles to effectively deter cross-border, illegal activities such as drugs and human trafficking rackets.
The Thai army was not reported to plan to procure attack drones which are already deployed by Myanmar government troops and ethnic armed rebels as well as drugs and human traffickers.
Despite his status as defence minister, Suthin would not raise a voice to the military top brass but would tend to satisfy their demands, especially when it comes to defence budgeting, Wiroj concluded.
Of the total 3.75 trillion baht budget for fiscal 2025, a sum of 200 billion baht has been provided for the Ministry of Defence, accounting for a five billion baht increase from the current fiscal year.
Of the 200 billion baht total, a sum of 96 billion baht has been provided for the army, 41 billion baht for the navy and 36 billion baht for the air force.
CAPTIONS:
Move Forward MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn taking Defence Minister Suthin Khlangsang to task at today’s budget debate. Top photo: Thai Rath, Front Page photo: Naewna
Insert: Defence Minister Suthin Khlangsang addressing today’s budget debate. Photo: Thai Rath
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