Political parties wanting to cut military spending and also end conscription say they are only looking to make the military better.
Future Forward Party spokeswoman Pannika Wanich said: "Our party's policy to revolutionise the army has two main goals. First, to make the army strong, full of potential and technologically up to date regarding world affairs. Second, to prevent another coup in Thailand and uphold civilian government over military regimes."
Her party proposes reducing military spending by 30%, or 50 billion baht, cutting personnel numbers in half to 170,000 and cutting the number of generals from 1,600 to 400.
It proposes recruiting volunteers for the armed forces and would contemplate a draft only in times of war, she said.
"Thailand needs an army. But that army must be strong and full of potential. That's why we need to stop the present recruiting system (via the draft), because soldiers forced into the military do not perform as well as those who volunteer," she said.
Pheu Thai spokeswoman Ladawan Wongsriwong said wars are rare and tensions along borders should be solved by diplomatic means.
The comments came after Defence Ministry spokesman Lt Gen Khongcheep Tantravanich (above) said on Wednesday that a troop shortage would result if only voluntary recruitment were adopted. He said military budget cuts were impossible.
Lt Gen Kongcheep said around 100,000 men are drafted each year, 70,000 of whom serve from six months to a year depending on their education level and the others serve two years.
Each year around 1,800 want to continue serving, he added.
Responding to concerns about conscript abuse, including forcing them to act as domestic servants to officers, Lt Gen Khongcheep stressed that only a few such cases have been reported.
Panitan Wattanayagorn, adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, said conscription is a tradition that is still needed as it fills a need in the armed forces.
Conscripted men gain valuable training and education they can't get elsewhere.
Thai soldiers also do humanitarian work and the army still needs a large number of soldiers to help patrol and protect over 5,000km of border areas.
A referendum may be needed if military conscription is to be scrapped, said Mr Panitan, who is also a political science lecturer at Chulalongkorn University.
Chulacheeb Chinwanno, a political science lecturer at Thammasat University, said if conscription is to be scrapped, it should be done gradually in tandem with drives to recruit more volunteers to the military.
