Army chief Gen Apirat Kongsompong on Wednesday insisted he supported calls to amend the constitution, saying he shared a similar view to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who has green-lighted the proposal.
"I have no objection to a charter rewrite because that is a [normal] political mechanism that the House of Representatives will have to propose," said Gen Apirat.
"And the PM is happy to allow this legislative process to happen."
He was responding to a question about his stance towards the charter rewrite as he addressed the House committee vetting the 2021 budget bill.
Gen Apirat was defending the 107.6-billion-baht budget set aside for the Defence Ministry when he was asked by Pol Col Thawee Sodsong, secretary-general of the opposition Prachachat Party, about the proposed charter rewrite.
The army chief said he had discussed the issue with his subordinates and told them it was important that every solider adopt a new approach to politics and democracy.
"No soldier should consider himself as an enemy of civilians," he said, stressing every soldier was also a member of the public, despite his or her role as a security official. Sometimes, soldiers may be duty-bound to take a tough stand about national security and use harsh words. At other times they also serve as members of the public, he said.
The ministry has adopted a new policy to replace military staff with technology whenever possible, part of its plan to continue lowering the number of soldiers, said Gen Apirat.
As for military officials who now also served as senators, Gen Apirat said they never took salaries for performing both duties at the same time.
They had given up their senator salaries and paid them into a fund for senator welfare, he said.