Military spending will shift from procuring weapons from overseas to sourcing domestic products due to budgetary pressures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Army spokesman Gen Santipong Thammapiya said the virus outbreak has forced the army to re-evaluate its spending plan as in the 2021 fiscal year much of its budget has been spent in support of the Covid-19 containment effort. She said the spending plan for the current fiscal year prioritises personnel welfare and maintenance of weapons and equipment to prolong their service years. For fiscal 2022, the military has been allocated 97.8 billion baht, a decrease of 8 billion baht, or 7.64%, from the previous year. It had requested 112 billion baht in funding.
