Thai Armed Forces Warned Of Budget Cut

[george]

Thai armed forces warned of budget cut

BANGKOK: -- The Supreme Commander of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, Gen. Chaisit Shinawatra, has warned of a government plan to trim the military budget, saying that insufficient funds could obstruct military tasks in case of emergency.

Gen. Chaisit said today that the Royal Thai Armed Forces have no problem of personnel shortage.

The Thai military forces have, however, faced the problem of insufficient high technology-based armaments, he pointed out.

Gen. Chaisit warned that a Ministry of Defence plan to further cut the annual budget provided for the Royal Thai Armed Forces in the 2006 fiscal year would affect the military missions.

"Apart from national defence which is their main task, the Royal Thai Armed Forces do have several indirect missions, including local development supports and relief operations; so, the Thai military should have sufficient budget for the procurement of advanced armaments to support the missions, especially in case of emergency", he suggested.

"Authorities should not overlook the indirect tasks of the Thai soldiers", he cautioned.

Gen. Chaisit today also met the Indonesian Navy Chief, Adm. Slamet Soebijanpo, who is paying an official visit to Thailand this week.

The two military leaders discussed bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Thailand in the prevention and suppression of piracy in the Malacca Straits.

"Jakarta and Bangkok have agreed to join hands in information exchanges to help tackle the problem of escalating piracy in the Malacca Straits", Gen. Chaisit disclosed.

--TNA 2005-06-07

[magnolia_fan]

Thai armed forces warned of budget cut 

The Thai military forces have, however, faced the problem of insufficient high technology-based armaments, he pointed out.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi-tech arms don't win a fight. Proper training does. If there is extra money, it should be put into using what is already there more effectively.