"Ministry of Defense" vacant seat, dusting off and waiting for the favorite "Big Kaew" General Chalermpol Srisawat
"Defense" vacant chair, expected to be dusted off and wait for "Big Kaew", the army tightens political space, "ex-military" assesses that leaving the Defense Minister vacant is not good for the border situation, warns secret deals will destroy the entire system
The Paethongtarn 2 cabinet does not include the name of the Minister of Defense. There is only the name of Gen. Nattapol Nakphanit, Deputy Minister of Defense, a connection of the Pheu Thai Party. But at this hour, when Thailand has a problem with the Cambodian border, there is no name of a person who will sit at the head of the table to control the Green Line troops. While the hottest news is "Big Kaew" Gen. Chalermpol Srisawat, the former Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, who must wait another 3 months for the deadline because he is a former Senator and must be absent from politics for 2 years before being able to accept a political position.
Unraveling the political and military issues surrounding the Defense Minister's seat by Lt. Gen. Phongsakorn Rodchomphu, former deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council, who analyzed that the government wanted to keep the deal on allowing the military to control the army, leaving the position vacant, and there were rumors of people who used to have connections with the side that staged the coup because the government wanted to please the military, due to a mistake regarding the clip of the Prime Minister talking to Hun Sen and saying that the army commander was an opposing party.
The military's advance has forced the government to give in, as the position of Deputy Defense Minister is General Nattapol Nakphanit, who appears to be a civilian with ties to Pheu Thai. What is regrettable about appointing the Defense Minister this time is that instead of letting the civilian side play a role, in order to change the old tradition of appointing military personnel, and defense work is not mysterious or complicated, it is even easier than being a Deputy Prime Minister for Security Affairs.
“In the past, the army controlled personnel and budgets. But today, modern warfare has changed. The power of the air force is more important. But when the person who controls defense comes from the army, the budget will flow to the army as usual. It is not in time with the changing world. This makes the personnel of the Thai army go around in a shell like when General Prayut was in office. It is like the second Uncle Tu government.”
While there is no defense minister, some government decisions are not decisive. In addition, there are problems along the border, which will cause everything to be thrown to the military. If we look at it politically, the military is now playing a bigger role. Even though there was no coup, the political side can still be controlled.
“On the issue of Cambodia, the defense department should have designated only one person to speak and provide news, such as having General Nattapol be the one to communicate each day. But now the military leaders are showing off their muscles, which is why the problem management is not good enough.”
Evaluate the pros and cons of "Big Kaew" if he takes charge of the Ministry of Defence.
"Lt. Gen. Pongsakorn" assessed that if "Big Kaew" Gen. Chalermpol Srisawat, former Supreme Commander, were to take charge of the Defense Ministry, the advantage would be that the government would feel safer and warmer having soldiers to help control it, but the disadvantage would be the same as Uncle Tu's era, with no flexibility in governing the country, when in fact we need to look further into politics, society, economics, and military psychology.
"I would like to leave a message to my juniors in the military. Those who are professional soldiers have no problem, but those at the top who act as "political soldiers" who aim to serve the interests of the coup system, I would like to ask you to let the people go. Let them walk their own path. If the military controls more, the country will be more backward and there will be more corruption."
According to the information, "Big Kaew" General Chalermpol Srisawat, former Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army, graduated from the 21st class of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School and the 32nd class of the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy. He began his military service as the Commander of the Reconnaissance Company, 22nd Cavalry Battalion.
"Big Kaew" was a lecturer at the Army Command and General Staff College, Director of the Operations Office, Department of Army Strategy, and was promoted to Commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division, King's Guard, and became the 35th Supreme Commander in 2020, along with being a Senator by position, before retiring in 2023.
