Sometimes it doesn't matter your ranking but rather your attitude. The last war Thailand fought was in 1988 - the Lao Thai border war. Lao who likely aren't listed in the top 200 managed to demoralize and defeat the more superior Thai side with less troops, less firepower and a lot more will. Lao still holds the ground they won in the last battle.

The outfit doing the 'rating' is a marketing operation for the global arms industry and is basically rating nations as consumers of weapons and overall expenditure on the military. The US is 'number 1' and has been fought to a standstill in Afghanistan... which doesn't seem to be on the list.

The number to note is Thailand's 150,000,000,000฿ 'defense' budget. 'Defense' budget is a misnomer in itself. The US 'defense' budget is in fact its budget for aggression, its 'Department of Defense' is its 'Department of War'. In Thailand the Royal Thai Army is in fact Bangkok's Army of Occupation for Thailand.

In both countries the real function of 'defense' expenditures is to enrich those involved in the procurement process. Thailand is number 8 in Asia in enrichment of 'defense' procurers. The US is number 1 world wide.

incredible ? ;-)

********Jatuporn, together with Nisit Sinthuprai, has been jailed on terrorism charges for the killing of army specialist Major General "Seh Daeng" Khattiya Sawasdipol during the violent Red-shirt protests 2010,[2] since their bails were denied on 12 May 2011.********************

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/election/243655/jatuporn-likely-behind-seh-daeng-killing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatuporn_Prompan

Jatuporn led the Red-shirts in the massive 2010 Thai political protests that had its bloody peaks in April and May of that year. He, Nattawut Saikua and other Red-Shirt leaders surrendered themselves to police to prevent further bloodshed after the violent military crackdown on 19 May 2010.[1]

Jatuporn, together with Nisit Sinthuprai, has been jailed on terrorism charges for the killing of army specialist Major General "Seh Daeng" Khattiya Sawasdipol during the violent Red-shirt protests 2010,[2] since their bails were denied on 12 May 2011. Therefore he, who is number 8 of the Pheu Thai Party list was not able to vote in the general election on 3 July, which disqualifies him from MP status.[3]
[edit] See also

Truth Today

[edit] References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jatuporn Prompan
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jatuporn Prompan

^ Spreading Violence Locks Down Bangkok, Wall Street Journal, 20 May, 2010
^ "'Conspiracy' behind' Seh Daeng death", Bangkok Post, 23 June 2011, retrieved 4 July 2011
^ "New bid soon for Jatuporn's release", Bangkok Post, 4 July 2011, retrieved 4 July 2011

First off - better check what Thailand's neighbors are doing - the fact that Thailand has a population of 70 million and a large, diverse geography that requires a capable military to protect it. Cambodia is a threat - Myanmar and the myriad of foreign-funded drug armies that have been fighting them or decades also pose a threat. Vietnam has a massive military as does Indonesia and of course there is China.

A strong military serves as a deterrent - please don't be naive as to think such a deterrent is not necessary. It is necessary against many forms of invasion - the likes of which are discussed and plotted daily in the halls of US corporate funded think tanks and published publicly - "Which Path to Persia?" is a stunning expose, a signed confession as to how the global corporate-financier elite approach nations to invade and despoil them tactically, politically and economically.

http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/05/which-path-to-persia-redux.html

Fake foreign funded protests and political oppositions (like Thaksin, UDD, and Prachatai), co-opting the military, and outright military aggression both covert and overt are discussed at great length as is the prospect of funding terrorist organizations to destabilize regions within a target nation. A strong capable, and fairly independent military is necessary to balk such tactics. This is the real world. Please wake up.

Same people, by the way, are the ones behind the Iraq, Afghan,and Libyan wars, and ironically are the ones that FUND PRACHATAI. What more evidence of their guilt do you need to see besides the fact that they have been asked by me, Jon Ungpakorn - their own founder, and The Nation's K. Pravit to disclose their finances for weeks now and instead they merely delete my comments and attempt to block my IP (now using different IP).

http://ned.org/where-we-work/asia/thailand

http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/07/anatomy-of-globalist-funded-sedition.html