ARANYAPRATHET – Attempting to alert more Thais to the imminent danger of a possible war with “Cambodian aggressors,” the Thai Patriots Network, or TPN, announced today that the Cambodian Air Force might actually have a plane that can fly.
“We have reason to believe that the wicked Khmers have developed first-strike capabilities,” said Chaiwat Sinsuwong. As evidence, he presented a declassified 1993 US intelligence report which listed the Cambodian Air Force’s assets, including five incomplete Russian-built 1973 MiG21Fs.
Although the intelligence report also stated that none of the fighter jets were operational, Chaiyat believed that the Cambodians might be able to assemble one good plane out of the usable parts.
“Maintenance instructions for the MiG are widely available on the Internet,” he pointed out.
Speaking from the TPN’s protest site at the Thai-Cambodian border, where the TPN claims Cambodia has infringed on Thai soil, Chaiyat said that a single enemy fighter jet could conceivably “attack Bangkok, even His Majesty’s palace,” and urged all Thai citizens to prepare for war against a “savage enemy.”
A spokesperson for the Royal Thai Air Force played down the possibility of an airstrike from Cambodia.
“We have three squadrons of F-16s ready to scramble at a moment’s notice,” said a visibly amused Air Chief Marshal Itthaporn Subhawong. “Although, to be honest, we could probably take down a single MiG21 with a couple of our training jets.”
