Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon's vice-minister Paisal Puechmongkol has raised queries about the cabinet's reported approval of a United States proposal to purchase plots in Chiang Mai, saying parliament should look into the matter.
On his Facebook page, Paisal Puechmongkol, who is also a former senator, wrote: "It was a deal to sell 15 rai of Chiang Mai land to America very quietly!!!"
"This is something not any other country would do, but Thailand did," wrote Mr Paisal.
His post is unusual, given his position advising Gen Prawit.
Some local media outlets recently reported the cabinet last Tuesday approved a US government proposal made through the Foreign Ministry that it buy additional plots in Chiang Mai.
Earlier, the cabinet on April 25 endorsed a US proposal to buy 22 plots of land totalling about 15 rai near the Chiang Mai-Lampang Highway to build a new US consulate in the North.
According to Mr Paisal, the decision to approve the land purchase was done in haste to avoid submitting the matter to parliament, as required by the constitution.
The government must seek endorsement of the proposal from parliament so it does not face legal troubles in the future, otherwise those responsible for approving the sale could be sentenced to prison, he said in the post.
According to Mr Paisal, the land plots will be used to build a drug suppression unit and a base for air force operations. He did not say where he obtained his information.
He said that with the alleged new air command in Chiang Mai, the US will use part of an air force base in Udon Thani that has been rented out to the Singaporean air force. He added this type of job is not normally delegated to a consulate, with the exception of consulates in colonies. Thailand will become a new target for missile attacks from US enemies if his suspicions come to pass, he predicted.
Gen Prawit said yesterday he does not know the contents of Mr Paisal's post, and he will discuss the issue with him. A high-ranking officer at the Royal Thai Air Force, who asked not to be named, rejected Mr Paisal's remarks, saying that if the US had such air command plans, the air force would have been informed of them.