Cabinet approves Bt864m urgent fund for armed forces to defend country: Anutin
Cabinet approves 864m baht emergency fund for armed forces to reinforce Thai sovereignty amid border tensions, PM Anutin confirms.
The first Cabinet meeting following the policy debate approved an urgent allocation of 864 million baht for the armed forces to strengthen national defence, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday.
He said the Cabinet convened its first formal meeting immediately after the government’s policy delivery process to Parliament concluded on Tuesday, approving the budget from the central emergency fund for the military to prepare for the Thai-Cambodian border situation.
The government delivered its policy statement to Parliament on Monday, and the two-day debate ended on Tuesday evening. The Cabinet meeting was held inside the Parliament building at 6.35 pm.
Anutin declined to give specifics on how the 864 million baht would be used, or whether it would include building border fences.
“I can’t go into details as it concerns national security,” he explained. “But I can say the extra budget is aimed at reinforcing the strength of the armed forces to defend sovereignty.”
The prime minister added that he would chair a meeting of the National Security Council on Thursday, after which he would announce what could be disclosed publicly.
Apart from the security allocation, the Cabinet also approved a budget to repay debt owed to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, allowing the bank to provide more loans to farmers.
Anutin said the Cabinet had also tasked deputy prime ministers and PM’s Office ministers with regularly inspecting their areas of responsibility.
