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The interim Surayud government's budget bill for fiscal 2008 is a major disappointment. The Defence Ministry has unquestioningly been given a whopping Bt143 billion, an increase of 24.3 per cent, while the overall public expenditure for fiscal 2008 increases by only 6 per cent. The National Legislative Assembly is expected to let the armed forces get away with this huge budget increase without a hassle. It is understandable given the fact that both the Surayud government and the NLA were appointed by the military, which has been wielding virtually absolute power since the September 19 coup of last year.

Having portrayed itself as a white knight coming to the rescue of oppressed Thai people by toppling the corruption-prone, authoritarian rule of prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and promising to restore the country to full democracy, the military is now helping itself with a generous but undeserved reward.

That the armed forces take it for granted that the Thai people would not only not object to the budget increase but also gladly foot the bill to show their gratitude is unsettling.

It may well be true that military hardware needs to be upgraded after many years of budgetary constraints following the 1997 crisis. But everybody knows that military hardware is only one important component for an effective military among many others, such as discipline, competence and professionalism - of which the members of the armed forces appear not to have enough.

Army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin, also the head of the military junta, who last week lamented the military's low morale and poor performance as a fighting force as reflected in the worsening situation in the deep South, will have a lot to answer for.

Sonthi will have to explain to the public how the acquisition of hi-tech military hardware is going to make a difference in Thailand's struggle against Islamic militants/Malay separatists in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, when the armed forces continue to lack the will to fight to protect civilians from the insurgents' campaign of terror.

He will have to convince taxpayers how the big defence budget increase, amounting to about 50 per cent in the fiscal years 2007 and 2008, would be translated into better performance in handling the raging insurgency in the deep South.

Since the armed forces have never publicly announced measurable objectives that they aim to achieve in the strife-torn region, how can anyone tell if the strategies and tactics used by the military against insurgents are working? Surely the military cannot be trusted to judge its own performance.

For almost two decades there has been talk about transforming the flabby armed forces into a more compact, effective fighting force. Little has changed. Today, the armed forces continue to be saddled by a bloated roster of 300,000 and weighed down by a top-heavy command structure with hundreds of generals, marshals and air marshals, many of them with no real job to do.

Instead of concentrating on fighting insurgents, top military commanders are sending confusing signals to their own forces as well as the public by offering to negotiate with people who have no qualms killing innocent civilians on a daily basis, making a mockery of the rule of law and threatening the territorial integrity of the country.

 Offering to negotiate with insurgents while under fire is a show of extreme weakness that will only encourage them to go on their killing sprees to try to pressure the government to make concessions and give them what they have always wanted. That is, the secession of the three southernmost provinces from the rest of Thailand.

 However, peace overtures and reconciliatory gestures should be offered to insurgents who are willing to lay down their arms unconditionally and their sympathisers who are prepared to rejoin society as law-abiding citizens of this indivisible Kingdom.

Thailand does not need a huge defence budget to keep 300,000 soldiers armed to the teeth with hi-tech weaponry when they have no will to fight the enemy. This is especially so if all the armed forces can do is offer to negotiate with insurgents. These insurgents should be brought to justice for the atrocities they have committed - not have their actions dignified with an invitation to discuss terms for peace at the negotiation table.