Prayut said that his remark on Saturday, saying that the government does not have a budget for any more weapons, was due to his misunderstanding.

“Budgets for the missiles were long approved and already included in [the Navy’s] annual budget. It’s nothing new. I just couldn’t remember everything,” the premier said.

The US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) last week notified Congress on Thailand’s requested purchase of the anti-ship missiles worth Bt 827.7 million.

Navy spokesperson Jumpol Lumpiganon said that the missile procurement has been part of a frigate deal between Thailand and South Korean shipbuilder signed in 2013.

The missiles, if approved, will be part of the Navy’s budgets from 2017 to 2019 via the US Foreign Military Sales program, the Navy said in a press release.

Once the US Congress approves the sale, the two countries should be able to sign the deal. The missiles should be delivered to Thailand within the next three years, the Navy added.

Prayut, meanwhile, said that the military budget needs to be higher because previous governments did not pay enough attention to national defence.

“We need a budget to buy and fix [military hardware] to protect our land and maritime resources, facilitate disaster relief and for military training purposes,” he said. “If we use trashy gadgets, are we going to keep up with [other countries]?”

Jatupat, known widely as “Pai Dao Din”, was found guilty and initially sentenced to five years for the charge, but the term was reduced because he confessed, according to judges.

The student activist was arrested in December after sharing the BBC Thai report on Facebook.

However, the allegedly discourteous article was not deemed as defamatory to the monarch and thousands of people around the world, including many people in Thailand, have also shared it via their own social media accounts.

While authorities did not file charges or even a complaint against the London-based BBC for publishing the article, only Jatupat was arrested. His bail requests were consistently rejected as authorities regarded lese majeste as a serious charge possibly entailing severe punishment. Domestic and international campaigns over recent months have failed to free him on bail.

Prior to the court judgment, Jatupat, who had maintained his innocence for months, agreed to plead guilty after consulting with his family and legal team to get a more lenient sentence.

The lese majeste law, according to Article 112 of the Penal Code, reads: “Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent shall be punished with imprisonment of three to 15 years.”

Jatupat’s jail sentence will be counted from when he was jailed on December 22, but it remains unclear whether he will be freed in June 2019, since he is also being prosecuted on many other charges, including resisting junta orders in a case that is being tried in military court.

‘Draconian law’

Jatupat has fought for social justice in his home region of the Northeast since he began studying as a law student at Khon Kaen University years ago.

He became well known after the 2014 coup as his group strongly criticised the military junta, while his rights of free expression have allegedly been violated repeatedly by authorities.

“It appears that Jatupat was singled out, from thousands of people who shared the BBC article, and prosecuted for his strong opposition to military rule rather than any harm incurred by the monarchy,” said Brad Adams, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch.

“His guilty verdict and jail sentence show yet again how Thailand’s draconian ‘insulting the monarchy’ law has been misused to punish dissenters.”

Jatupat won the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights awarded by South Korea’s May 18 Memorial Foundation this year, although the Thai Embassy in Seoul wrote a letter to the foundation to object to the award.

Prayut’s visit to the White House became an issue after Trump invited him in April, but the schedule has not been fixed since then. Trump invited leaders from several Southeast Asia countries, including the Philippines and Singapore, but unlike in Thailand, those leaders did not seem prepared to go immediately. Bangkok first floated the idea that the visit would be in July, but later said it had been postponed.

Prayut said last week during a meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that he would go to the US in October, but Don then seemed ambivalent whether the trip could be arranged.

He said yesterday that the impending meeting would cover facets of cooperation between the two countries, such as security, the military, trade and investment, as well as Thailand’s large trade surplus with the US.

While Tillerson’s visit last week highlighted sanctions resulting from Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, Don said Washington had not conveyed specifics about a crackdown on North Korean companies as the media had reported.

According to an AFP report released hours before Tillerson met Prayut, the acting US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs, Susan Thornton, said the US wanted Thailand to crack down on North Korean firms, tighten visa requirements for North Koreans entering Thailand and squeeze the country diplomatically.

Don denied the report. “The US stance is to denuclearise North Korea,” he said. “As an Asean member, we support further dialogue to work on the issue.”

An official with the US Department of State told The Nation that Washington was seeing unprecedented levels of cooperation from the international community in response to North Korea’s “unlawful and provocative” actions.

Responses by the international community include new sanctions, the reduction of diplomatic engagements, the expulsion of North Korean diplomats and workers, and the interdiction of arms and other shipments around the world, he said.

The international community had made clear that North Korea would face consequences for its continued circumvention of UN Security Council sanctions, the development of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, and violations of UN resolutions, the US official said.

SECURITY officers will be sent to guard judges in the high-profile case involving former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to maintain order ahead of the announcement of a verdict.

The panel of nine judges hearing the case in the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, and their residences, will be under guard until after the court delivers its verdict on August 25.

The order came after Army chief General Chalermchai Sitthisart, who is also head of the Peace and Order Maintaining Command, yesterday called a meeting of security forces to assess expectations about the situation on the day of the verdict.

Yingluck has been charged with negligence in preventing corruption and irregularities related to her government’s rice-pledging scheme, which allegedly caused massive financial damage to the country.

Authorities have been closely monitoring movements by Yingluck’s supporters ahead of the verdict.

The meeting concluded that supporters would mainly come from outside Bangkok, including Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan and Ayutthaya provinces, where there are strong bases of Pheu Thai Party and red-shirt supporters, according to a source at the meeting. The source said security officers had been instructed to closely monitor local leaders in other areas in the North and Northeast who might mobilise supporters.

Security forces have estimated that 1,000 to 2,000 people will show up to support Yingluck at the court. However, authorities were not concerned about the supporters, but of a “third party” that might provoke chaos, the source said.

Officers would also consider the sources of funding for supporters’ trips to Bangkok, the source said, adding that the total cost of all the passengers in a single van visiting the capital would amount to Bt100,000.

Other modes of transport that might be used by Yingluck supporters include free train services provided by the government. People travelling by train would probably arrive a couple of days before the verdict and meet at assembly points in Don Muang and Lak Si districts near the Supreme Court, the source added.

Chalermchai said in the meeting that everyone should do their duty in ensuring peace and order, as well as to create an understanding with people regarding the issue, the source said.

Initially, government forces would stick with security measures referred to as “Korakot 52”, which was considered a “soft” security plan, to cope with the situation, the source said, adding that another meeting would be called next week to reassess the situation.

Meanwhile, a red-shirt leader in Chiang Mai, who asked not to be named, told The Nation that the movement was being closely monitored by security personnel, who had asked if supporters planned to be in Bangkok for the verdict.

Red-shirt leaders had told security personnel they would stay home but give Yingluck moral support, the source said, adding that leaders had not been in touch with one another or discussed politics recently.

Anyone travelling to Bangkok for the verdict would do so privately, the red-shirt source said.

Stern warning

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday he did not have a problem with people travelling independently and in good faith to support the former prime minister, but added that any third party that was involved would have to be scrutinised.

The premier last week issued a warning that he would have officers ask Yingluck’s supporters individually where they |were from and how they had travelled to |the court on the day of the verdict. Citing the necessity of law enforcement, Prayut warned that everyone had to obey all laws, including traffic laws that might be broken in the event of a road blockade.

“Everyone will be punished [if they break the law]. I will not let anyone violate the law,” Prayut said.

Authorities had not detected any suspicious movements or identified third parties that would create turmoil, Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday.

However, despite saying that authorities would not block attempts by Yingluck’s supporters to show up at the court, Prawit said it would be better if they stayed at home.

“They can come [from the provinces]. But if too many people come, I’m afraid there will not be enough space for them,” he said.

In a related development, Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda said there had not been any irregularities found in the spending of local administration organisations in connection with possible trips to support Yingluck.

However, organisations across the country had been instructed that spending had to be in line with laws and regulations, the interior minister said.

The Office of the Auditor-General |had floated the idea that local administrative organisations could have misused |state budgets to fund trips in support of Yingluck.

Yingluck has been charged with negligence related to her government’s rice-pledging scheme, and the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders is set to deliver a verdict in the case on August 25.

Authorities have been closely monitoring movements by her supporters ahead of the verdict.

So far, they had not detected any suspicious movement or identified a third party that would create turmoil, Prawit said.

Despite saying authorities would not block attempts by Yingluck’s supporters to show up at court to provide moral support, Prawit said it would be better if they stayed at home.

“They can come [from provinces]. But if too many people come, I’m afraid there will be no enough space for them,” he said.

Since the “13th International Conference on Thai Studies”, which was held at CMU from July 15 to 18, at least four academics have now been summoned by the police after displaying banners saying “this was not a military camp, but an academic forum”.

Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, director of CMU’s Regional Centre for Social Science and Sustainable Development, is the latest to be called upon by the police for alleged violation of a ban on political gatherings or activities.

He will meet the police on August 23, the Transborder News online news agency reported on Tuesday.

Chayan was quoted as saying that he had not asked for permission from the military to organise the event in the first place, as it was academic-based.

It was probably the banners that were displayed at the event that had prompted the latest call from the police, he acknowledged.

Chayan insisted, however, that no political activities had been held at the four-day conference, despite what he was being accused of, so he had no idea why he had been summoned.

He added that he had consulted the Chiang Mai governor about the event, and that the governor had even presided over it.

Chayan pointed out that organising academic forums in the future would become harder because people would feel threatened, despite the fact that the July academic event was open for discussions on problems the country faced, and potential solutions to them, as well as on policies that needed to be addressed.

Some of the discussions had touched upon trans-border problems and other development issues that the government was also concerned about, he explained, adding that these issues would not be thoroughly analysed and tackled without such an “academic lens” being present.

The event should therefore be seen as beneficial to the country, and not the opposite, he suggested.

Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpatararaksa, 25, is the latest anti-junta activist to be hit with the country’s draconian lese majeste law which bans any criticism of the monarchy.

The law, which carries up to 15 years in jail per charge, has been wielded with increased ferocity under Thailand’s military rulers.

He has been held in custody since his arrest in December for sharing an article written by the BBC’s Thai-language service in London.

On Tuesday he changed his plea to guilty, his legal team said, a stance that usually trims the sentence of alleged offenders.

“After Jatupat consulted with his family, he pleaded guilty this morning before the court for committing the alleged wrongdoing as charged,” Krisadang Nootjaras, one of his lawyers, told AFP.

The court in northeastern Khon Kaen province is expected to sentence him later on Tuesday, he added.

Those charged with lese majeste in Thailand are almost always convicted, often behind closed doors.

Many people arrested for the crime plead guilty hoping for a reduced sentence.

Use of the lese majeste law has generated widespread international criticism, including from the United Nations.

A UN report earlier this year noted that the conviction rate under the law had gone from 75 per cent before the 2014 coup to 96 per cent last year.

Many of those jailed have been handed record-breaking sentences as long as 30 years, often for comments made on social media.

Jatupat hails from Thailand’s northeast, a poor and rural region where anti-military sentiment runs high.

He was awarded a prominent human rights award in South Korea earlier this year.

He has yet to attain his father’s widespread popularity.

Auditor-General Pisit Leelawachiropas on Sunday threatened to release the names of local administrative officials who are organising trips to Bangkok in support of the former prime minister.

The negligence charge against Yingluck relates to her then-government’s rice-pledging scheme, which caused massive financial damage to the country, with her trial taking place at the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders.

When she delivered her closing statement in the case on August 1, more than 1,000 of her supporters assembled at the court.

“There are reports that some local administrative body officials have planned trips under the pretext of other missions,” Pisit said.

“Local government officials have told us that there are plans to bring participants to the court too. Such actions happened before on August 1.”

He said his office was investigating the reports and would consider releasing the names of those involved.

Thawip said security officers have talked to concerned officials in each province. So there should not be any irregular moves ahead of the court verdict, he added.

A red shirt leader in Chiang Mai told The Nation that security in the province is expected to be tightened further as the date for verdict draws nearer.

The source said red shirt leaders are closely monitored by security personnel, who asked them if they planned to be in Bangkok for the verdict.

The leaders told them they will stay at home to give Yingluck moral support, the source said.

The source said the leaders have not been in touch with one another or discussed politics for some time.

Anyone travelling to Bangkok for the verdict would do so privately, the source said.

Prayut said last week that the meeting, which followed Trump’s phone-call invitation in late April for the pair to meet, should happen in October.

On Tuesday, Don said the meeting should cover facets of cooperation between the two countries, such as security, military, trade and investment, including Thailand’s large trade surplus with the US.

Following US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to Bangkok last Tuesday, the US has not tried to pressure Thailand to shut down the operations of North Korean companies in Thailand following rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Don said.

According to an AFP report hours before Tillerson met with Prayut, the acting US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs, Susan Thornton, said the US wanted Thailand to crack down on North Korean firms, tighten visa requirements for North Koreans entering Thailand and squeeze the country’s diplomatically.

Don denied the report, adding: “The US stance is to denuclearise North Korea. As an Asean member, we support further dialogues to work on the issue.”

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam will table the list for Cabinet approval on Tuesday.

The committees must be set up within 15 days of the reform law’s promulgation.

The names of the committee members must be immediately released to the public after Cabinet approval is given.

The Cabinet will also consider the strategic plan on robotics and parts that has been proposed by the Industry Ministry.

The plan is part of the new national strategic blueprint for the country’s new Thailand 4.0 digital economic model.

It is expected the move will result in investors gaining tax advantages worth tens of billions of baht in 2018, the first year of the plan’s implementation.

The Cabinet will also consider the Agriculture Ministry’s report on flood damage and the new rehabilitation budget for farmers affected by the recent floods.

Concerned agencies will discuss work initiated under the new water resource management agency, which was recently set up under Article 44 of the interim constitution.