Don’t make Cobra Gold an exercise in vanity

The United States and Thailand this week kicked off their annual joint Cobra Gold military exercise, giving the Thai military junta a much-needed confidence boost and a sense of acceptance – or so they think. 
The event was opened by the head of the US Pacific Command Admiral Harry Harris – the highest-ranking America officer to visit Thailand since the May 2014 coup.
Thailand’s top brass shouldn’t let this go to their head and start thinking that Harris’ presence is a stamp of approval for their administration or their self-proclaimed road to democracy – something the junta has talked about often but has always contradicted itself when it comes to implementation.
To Thailand’s liking, the turn out is high – around 8,000-plus Thai and American troops with nearly 50 per cent from the US side. 
A total of 29 countries will observe the exercise and in the front row are the two most noticeable – China and Vietnam. 
Desperate for anything that would grant them legitimacy given the manner in which they came to power, the Thai top brass trumpeted the numbers. In this case, bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. 
But if one were to step back just a little and look at this exercise from a bird’s-eye view, it’s not hard to see how China fits into all of this. 
Of course, Washington does not want to see longstanding treaty allies like Thailand fall deeper into China’s orbit of influence and undoubtedly it will explore options as to what it could bring to the table to keep Bangkok on its side. 
In this respect, Harris’ message 
on democracy extended beyond 
Thai borders to China as well. This 
is not to say that the US is urging countries to do away with authoritarianism. Democracy and human rights have long been the bedrock 
of American foreign policy and 
this is something that they been 
propagating to the world.
Regardless of the fact that the Trump administration confuses everybody about its plans and doctrines, human rights and democracy have always been a part of US foreign policy. 
That message was also a reminder to the Thai military that they need to keep their word. The junta has talked a lot about democracy or a return to democracy. In reality, it has been shooting itself in the foot when it comes to implementation. 
Take rule of law, for example: Thailand has become the butt of jokes for arresting a young student activist, Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpatraraksa, for “forwarding” a piece of news that police deemed offensive to the monarchy. It was a piece of news forwarded by thousands of other people but Japutat was singled out, probably because he was a strong critic of the junta.
Can anybody in this government explain why this young man has been targeted – his bail applications have been rejected six times already – when so many other criminals are on the streets or have been set free? It can’t be explained or justified and that’s the problem. 
There are serious shortcomings even in basic things like attendance at National Legislative Assembly (NLA) meetings – a group of lawmakers, including the prime minister’s brother, continue to collect full pay when they hardly ever attend any assembly debates. 
Doesn’t the NLA regulation require its members to attend at least one-third of the votes to maintain membership? 
In short, Thailand needs to practice what it preaches and the junta should not make the mistake of letting the presence of the 29 countries at the Cobra Gold get to its head. 
In times to come, people will not remember the size of the show you put on but the foundation that you laid for future generations.