Cutting through the tangled web of Thai military’s business interests

While it has been widely known for a long time that the Thai military is heavily involved in business and commercial interests, the anatomy of businesses under the control of the armed forces is hardly known, as most of them have been concealed.

The House of Representatives set up an ad hoc committee in late January to explore the possibilities of freeing the military from involvement in businesses in a bid to rid the armed forces of corruption and conflict of interest, so they could stay focused on their primary responsibility: national defense.

The public in Thailand got a glimpse of the dark side of the military’s business activities in early 2020 when a junior army officer went on a shooting rampage, killing 30 people including himself, in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province in a rage over a business deal involving a housing welfare scheme.

In a move to regulate…