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Thailand General Development
From early times, the country's kings were, with few
exceptions, military leaders, and the history of their reigns is
replete with accounts of armed conflict. The Thai peasants
followed their kings and nobles into war and then between wars
returned to the land. The few professional retainers and mercenaries who made up the permanent military establishment neither
enjoyed special privileges or prestige nor exercised any
particular influence over national life. Military leaders were
usually members or favorites of the royal family with an aptitude
for military organization and command. Their authority and
tenure, however, were subject to the king's pleasure.
During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the Thai learned
much from their campaigns against the Khmer and the Burmese.
Following the Khmer example, King Trailok (1448-88) established
administrative divisions and increased the proficiency of his
army. A successor, Ramathibodi II (1491-1529), wrote a treatise
on warfare and further improved Thai military capability by
reorganizing his army and instituting compulsory service. In the
early sixteenth century, the Portuguese introduced firearms into
the kingdom and taught the Thai the arts of casting bronze cannon
and constructing stone fortifications. Portuguese mercenaries
also served the king as bodyguards, armorers, and instructors in
musketry.
The Thai-Burmese struggle continued into the seventeenth
century, and the exploits of King Naresuan (1590-1605)
contributed greatly to emerging Thai military traditions. In a
battle in 1593 that secured his kingdom against an invading
Burmese army, Naresuan killed the enemy crown prince in a famous
duel in which the contenders were mounted on elephants. His
exploits were recounted in later school texts as part of the
country's heritage of courage and valor.
King Mongkut (Rama IV, 1851-68) took the first steps toward
the development of modern fighting forces. Under his rule and
that of his son, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V, 1868-1910), the Thai
were particularly receptive to Western ideas and methods. They
established military and naval cadet schools, brought in limited
numbers of foreign advisers, and began reorganizing the army
along European lines. In 1894 the Ministry of Defense was formed,
giving the military for the first time a recognized position in
the governmental hierarchy.
These developments laid the groundwork for the creation of a
professional military officer class and for the establishment of
a permanent and relatively modern military organization. Although
the king maintained complete control, princes and other
high-ranking members of the royal family continued to hold key
positions within the military. ln 1905 a law was passed
designating the crown prince as commander in chief of the army.
In 1912 King Vajiravudh (Rama VI, 1910-25) established the
National Defense Council, composed of military and civilian
officials, with himself at the head. During this same period
antimonarchist sentiment found its first clandestine expression
in a small group of army and navy officers who resented the
king's favoring units that served as the palace guard. Powerful
princes of the time also indicated their displeasure at the
king's practice of appointing commoners to high government
positions, including senior military posts.
In succeeding years, Thai kings gave increasing attention to
building a modern military establishment, which they began to use
to further the country's international interests. In World War I
Thailand joined the Allied Powers and sent a small contingent of
soldiers to France. The kingdom's demonstrated ability to develop
its own military force with only limited foreign assistance
became an effective argument in obtaining favorable revision of
treaties with France and Britain in the early 1920s . During this
period the first full-fledged Thai army, a force consisting of
roughly 30,000 officers and men, was organized and trained
according to European military concepts and practices.
The acceptance of Western influence by the Thai ruling elite
at the beginning of the twentieth century significantly affected
the role of the military. By the 1930s, many officers had
attended European military schools, where they learned not only
modern fighting tactics but also new social concepts and
political patterns. Similarly, many civilians who had studied
abroad had become interested in liberalizing the governmental
system. These civilian leaders enlisted support among the
military, and the resulting coup d'etat in June 1932 brought
about the transformation of the absolute monarchy into a
constitutional government
(see Beginning of the Constitutional Era
, ch. 1). It also established the military as a dominant force
in national political life.
During World War II the Thai armed forces grew in strength to
about 60,000. In the period of political instability following
the war, however, the size of the military establishment
fluctuated markedly. When the military elite was in power as a
result of a coup d'etat, the armed forces expanded. When
countercoups brought civilian-led administrations, military force
reductions followed.
In 1950 the Thai entered into various aid agreements with the
United States and received grants through the latter's Military
Assistance Program (MAP). Under this arrangement, the Thai
initiated a comprehensive modernization program based on American
advice, equipment, and training
(see Foreign Security Assistance
, this ch.). Two decades later these measures had transformed the
Thai military into a modern armed force with greatly improved
capabilities for national defense and internal security. By 1970
the armed forces had increased to approximately 155,000. Their
growth maintained a moderate pace thereafter (see
table 16,
Appendix).
Data as of September 1987
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