Royal Thai Armed Forces - Conflicts

Conflicts

The Royal Thai Armed Forces was involved in many conflicts throughout its history, including global, regional and internal conflicts. However most these were within Southeast Asia. The only two foreign incursions into Thai territory was in December 1941 when the Empire of Japan invaded then occupied the country, and in the 1980s with the Vietnamese incursions into Thailand that led to several battles with the Thai military. Operations on foreign territory were either territorial wars (such as the Laos Civil War) or conflicts mandated by the United Nations.

• Franco-Siamese War (1893)

  With the rapid expansion of the French Empire into Indochina, conflicts occurred between the two nations. Conflict became inevitable when a French mission, to peacefully bring Laos under French rule: led by Auguste Pavie to King Chulalongkorn ended in failure. The French invaded Siam from the northeast and sent two gunboats to Bangkok (Paknam Incident). Siam eventually conceded to the French ultimatum and ceded Laos to French control.

• World War I (1917–1918)

  King Vajiravudh on the 22 of July 1917 decided to declare war on the Central Powers and joined the Entente Powers in their fight on the Western Front. Sending a volunteer corps of the Siamese Expeditionary Force; composed of 1,233 modern-equipped and trained men commanded by Field Marshal Prince Chakrabongse Bhuvanath. The Force included air and medical personnel. Siam became the only independent Asian nation with forces in Europe during the Great War. Although Siam’s participation militarily was minimal, the result was the revision or complete cancellation of unequal treaties with the United States, France and the British Empire. The Force was also given the honour of marching in the victory parade under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

• Franco-Thai War (1940–1941)

  Perhaps modern Thailand’s only war of aggression, began in October 1940. When the country under the fascist rule of Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram decided to invade a weakened France, under the Vichy regime (after the Nazi occupation of Paris) to return lost lands and settle disputed territories. This war also supported Phibun’s program of Thai nationalism. The war ended indecisively. Disputed territories in French Indochina ceded to Thailand.

• World War II (1941–1945)

  In order to attack British India and Malaya the Japanese Empire needed the use of Thai military bases. By playing the British Empire against Japan Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram was able to retain a façade of neutrality. This ended in the early hours of 8 December 1941 when Japan unilaterally invaded Thailand in nine points to the east and south of the country; resistance to the invasion was minimal. By 07:30 am, Phibun ordered the end to all hostilities and Thailand promptly signed an armistice with Japan allowing the Empire to move its troops through Thai territory. From then on Thailand became part of the Axis. An active and foreign assisted underground resistance movement in the Free Thai was largely successful and helped Thailand to rehabilitate after the war and treated as a friendly rather than an enemy nation.

• Korean War (1950–1953)

  During the United Nations mandated conflict in the Korean peninsula, Thailand provided the 21st Regiment of about 1,294 men. The Kingdom also provided 4 naval vessels and 1 air transport unit to the UN command structure. The contingent suffered heavy casualties including 129 dead. The unit returned to Thailand by 1955.

• Vietnam War (1954–1975)

  Due to its close proximity with Thailand, developments within Vietnam was closely monitored by Bangkok. However Thai involvement did not became official until the total involvement of the United States in 1963. Thailand allowed the use of their territories as air bases and troop bases for U.S. forces. Eventually contributing many men and resources. The Thai Armed Forces suffered about 1,351 deaths. Thailand was however more involved with the Secret War and covert operations in Laos from 1964 to 1972. However by 1975 relations between Bangkok and Washington has soured, eventually all U.S. military personnel and bases were forced to withdraw and Thai involvement in the conflict came to an end.

• Communist Insurgency (1976-1980s)

  The Communist victory in Vietnam emboldened the Communist movement within Thailand which has been in existence since the 1920s. After the Thammasat University massacre in 1976 and the rightwing and repressive policies of Tanin Kraivixien. Sympathies for the movement increased, by the late seventies it is estimated that the movement has about 12,000 armed insurgents, mostly based in the northeast along the Laotian-Khmer border. By the 1980s all insurgent activities were defeated. In 1982 Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda issued a general amnesty for all Communist insurgents.

• Vietnamese border raids (1979–1988)

  With the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978, Communist Vietnam had a combined force of about 300,000 in Laos and Cambodia. This posed a massive threat towards Bangkok, as it could no longer rely on Cambodia to act as a buffer state. Small border raids and conflicts began to occur between the two countries, however full and official conflict was never declared.

• Thai–Laotian Border War (1987–1988)

  The war was a small conflict over the territories surrounding three villages between the Sainyabuli Province in Laos and Phitsanulok Province in Thailand. The war ended with a Laotian victory, and return to status quo ante bellum. No settlement was made the two nations suffered a combined casualty of about 1,000.

• East Timor (1999–2002)

  After the East Timor Crisis, Thailand together with 28 other nations provided the International Force for East Timor or INTERFET. Thailand also provided the Force Commander in Lieutenant General Winai Phattiyakul. The force was based in Dili and lasted from 25 October 1999 to 20 May 2002.

• Iraq War (2003–2004)

  After the successful U.S. invasion of Iraq, Thailand contributed 423 troops in August 2003 to nation building and medical assistance in post-Sadam Iraq. The forces mostly from the Royal Thai Army was attacked in the 2003 Karbala bombings, killing 2 Thai soldiers and wounding 5 others. The Thai mission in Iraq was considered successful and the forces withdrew in August 2004. This mission is considered the main reason the United States decided to designate Thailand as a Major non-NATO ally in 2003.

• Southern Insurgency (2004–ongoing)

  The ongoing Southern Insurgency began long before 2004, waged by the ethnic Malays and Islamic rebels in the three southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. The Insurgency intensified in 2004, when terrorist attacks on ethnic Thai civilians from the insurgents escalated. The Royal Thai Armed Forces in turn responded with heavy armed tactics. The casualties currently stands at 155 Thai military personnel killed against 1,600 insurgents killed and about 1,500 captured, over the backdrop of about 2,729 civilian casualties. Currently there is a plan by the Royal Thai Government to hand over responsibility of the conflict to a civilian body, a move the military does not favour.

• Cambodian–Thai border stand-off (2008-ongoing)