By Allen Myers, Phnom Penh
Posted by The Nation
Who, if anyone, is in charge of the Thai Air Force?
Is it the Thai Defence Minister? Someone else in the government? A military commander? The yellow shirts? The question arises because all of these people, and more, seem to be issuing orders to Thailand's Air Force and/or explaining its actions. And mostly they disagree with each other.
Let's start with the yellow shirts. Although they put PM Abhisit into office by occupying the Bangkok airport, they are upset with his inability to disband Unesco, overrun Preah Vihear or convince the rest of the world that Thailand is the only country that has any heritage worth mentioning.
On February 3, there was a yellow-shirt demonstration in Bangkok led by Major-General Chamlong Srimuang. According to The Nation, Chamlong called on the Thai government "to withdraw Thailand from membership of the World Heritage Committee, disavow 2000's memorandum of understanding on bilateral border demarcations" with Cambodia and to "send F-16 fighters flying over the controversial spots along the Thai-Cambodian border". The report continued: "The Thai Air Force could be used in lieu of ground or naval forces against the Cambodians, who only have some dilapidated MiG-21 fighters."
The same article quoted the Thai Defence Minister, General Prawit Wongsuwan, as saying "Military ties between Thailand and Cambodia remained firm and friendly". However, the minister has some peculiar ideas about friendship. Or perhaps a major-general in the yellow shirts outranks a general in the government. Whatever the reason, five days later Prawit had adopted Chamlong's idea regarding the Air Force. Prawit told the Thai Cabinet "'that Cambodia was unlikely to exacerbate the situation because it did not have a strong military. "Cambodia's air force is not powerful, and I warned my counterpart [Cambodian Defence Minister] Tea Banh that we would fly jet fighters if they did not stop,' Prawit was quoted as saying." (The Nation, February 9.)
Two days later, two Thai fighter planes flew along, and possibly across, the border near the Preah Vihear Temple. Thai DeputyPM Suthep Thaugsuban said that this had not happened, and anyway it was only normal flight training. Suthep was contradicted by Air Chief Marshal Prachin Chantong, who said that two Thai planes "flew very close to the Cambodian border by mistake". Prachin reportedly said that the planes were participating in the Cobra Gold military exercises with the US and Singapore.
It might be too cynical to discount the "mistake" explanation. Mistakes seem to be endemic in the Thai Air Force, perhaps because its personnel can't be sure whose orders they are supposed to be following. A more serious mistake occurred on February 14, when two Thai F-16s crashed; fortunately the pilots ejected safely. Initial reports indicated that the planes may have collided with each other. Perhaps Major-General Chamlong told them "Turn right" while Air Chief Marshal Prachin was telling them "Turn left."
However, we should also mention the possibility that the crashes were not a mistake in the usual sense of the word. In both Thailand and Cambodia, the majority religion is Buddhism. It is a central Buddhist belief that a person's good or bad behaviour today affects their future fortune. Some Buddhists might be inclined to see the loss of two military planes as karmic retribution for the Thai military's shelling of both the Temple of Preah Vihear and Wat Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak.
PM Abhisit is working overtime to prevent international observers seeing what his troops have been and are doing. But can he hide them from the Buddha?
Who, if anyone, is in charge of the Thai Air Force?
Is it the Thai Defence Minister? Someone else in the government? A military commander? The yellow shirts? The question arises because all of these people, and more, seem to be issuing orders to Thailand's Air Force and/or explaining its actions. And mostly they disagree with each other.
Let's start with the yellow shirts. Although they put PM Abhisit into office by occupying the Bangkok airport, they are upset with his inability to disband Unesco, overrun Preah Vihear or convince the rest of the world that Thailand is the only country that has any heritage worth mentioning.
On February 3, there was a yellow-shirt demonstration in Bangkok led by Major-General Chamlong Srimuang. According to The Nation, Chamlong called on the Thai government "to withdraw Thailand from membership of the World Heritage Committee, disavow 2000's memorandum of understanding on bilateral border demarcations" with Cambodia and to "send F-16 fighters flying over the controversial spots along the Thai-Cambodian border". The report continued: "The Thai Air Force could be used in lieu of ground or naval forces against the Cambodians, who only have some dilapidated MiG-21 fighters."
The same article quoted the Thai Defence Minister, General Prawit Wongsuwan, as saying "Military ties between Thailand and Cambodia remained firm and friendly". However, the minister has some peculiar ideas about friendship. Or perhaps a major-general in the yellow shirts outranks a general in the government. Whatever the reason, five days later Prawit had adopted Chamlong's idea regarding the Air Force. Prawit told the Thai Cabinet "'that Cambodia was unlikely to exacerbate the situation because it did not have a strong military. "Cambodia's air force is not powerful, and I warned my counterpart [Cambodian Defence Minister] Tea Banh that we would fly jet fighters if they did not stop,' Prawit was quoted as saying." (The Nation, February 9.)
Two days later, two Thai fighter planes flew along, and possibly across, the border near the Preah Vihear Temple. Thai DeputyPM Suthep Thaugsuban said that this had not happened, and anyway it was only normal flight training. Suthep was contradicted by Air Chief Marshal Prachin Chantong, who said that two Thai planes "flew very close to the Cambodian border by mistake". Prachin reportedly said that the planes were participating in the Cobra Gold military exercises with the US and Singapore.
It might be too cynical to discount the "mistake" explanation. Mistakes seem to be endemic in the Thai Air Force, perhaps because its personnel can't be sure whose orders they are supposed to be following. A more serious mistake occurred on February 14, when two Thai F-16s crashed; fortunately the pilots ejected safely. Initial reports indicated that the planes may have collided with each other. Perhaps Major-General Chamlong told them "Turn right" while Air Chief Marshal Prachin was telling them "Turn left."
However, we should also mention the possibility that the crashes were not a mistake in the usual sense of the word. In both Thailand and Cambodia, the majority religion is Buddhism. It is a central Buddhist belief that a person's good or bad behaviour today affects their future fortune. Some Buddhists might be inclined to see the loss of two military planes as karmic retribution for the Thai military's shelling of both the Temple of Preah Vihear and Wat Keo Sekha Kiri Svarak.
PM Abhisit is working overtime to prevent international observers seeing what his troops have been and are doing. But can he hide them from the Buddha?
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