or six months if they volunteer at their respective district office

The Royal Thai Armed Forces (Thai: ?????????: Kongthap Thai) constitute the military of the Kingdom of Thailand. They consist of the Royal Thai Army (???????????), the Royal Thai Navy (?????????????, ??????????), and the Royal Thai Air Force (??????????????). It also incorporates various paramilitary forces.
Currently, the Royal Thai Armed Forces has a combined manpower of about 800,000 personnel. The Head of the Thai Armed Forces (?????????: Chomthap Thai) is King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX),[49] although this position is only nominal. The Armed Forces is managed by the Ministry of Defence of Thailand, which is headed by the Minister of Defence (a member of the Cabinet of Thailand) and commanded by the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, which in turn is headed by the Chief of Defence Forces of Thailand.[50] In 2011, Thailand's known military expenditure totalled approximately US$5.1 billion.[51]
According to the constitution, serving in the Armed Forces is a duty of all Thai citizens.[52] However, only males over the age of 21, who have not gone through reserve training of the Army Reserve Force Students, are given the option of whether they want to volunteer for the armed forces, or choose the random draft. The candidates are subjected to varying lengths of training, from six months to two years of full-time service, depending on their education, whether they have partially completed the reserve training course, and whether they volunteered prior to the drafting date (usually 1 April every year).
Candidates with a recognized bachelor's degree will be subjected to one year of full-time service if they chose the random draft, or six months if they volunteer at their respective district office (Sasadee). Likewise, the training length is also reduced for those who have partially completed the three-year reserve training course (Ror Dor). A person who completed one year out of three will only have to serve full-time for one year. Those who completed two years of reserve training will only have to do six months of full-time training, while those who complete three years or more of reserve training will be exempted entirely.
The Royal Thai Armed Forces Day is celebrated on 18 January, commemorating the victory of King Naresuan the Great in battle against the Crown Prince of Burma in 1593

Cambodia's Preah Vihear Hindu temple near the border

The foreign relations of Thailand are handled by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
Thailand participates fully in international and regional organizations. It is a Major non-NATO ally and Priority Watch List Special 301 Report of the United States. The country remains an active member of ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations). Thailand has developed increasingly close ties with other ASEAN members—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, and Vietnam—whose foreign and economic ministers hold annual meetings. Regional cooperation is progressing in economic, trade, banking, political, and cultural matters. In 2003, Thailand served as APEC host. Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, currently serves as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In 2005 Thailand attended the inaugural East Asia Summit.
In recent years, Thailand has taken an increasingly active role on the international stage. When East Timor gained independence from Indonesia, Thailand, for the first time in its history, contributed troops to the international peacekeeping effort. Its troops remain there today as part of a UN peacekeeping force. As part of its effort to increase international ties, Thailand has reached out to such regional organizations as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Thailand has contributed troops to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Thaksin initiated negotiations for several free trade agreements with China, Australia, Bahrain, India, and the US. The latter especially was criticized, with claims that high-cost Thai industries could be wiped out.[44] Thaksin also announced that Thailand would forsake foreign aid, and work with donor countries to assist in the development of neighbors in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.[45] Thaksin was ambitious to position Thailand as a regional leader, initiating various development projects in poorer neighbouring countries like Laos. More controversially, he established close, friendly ties with the Burmese dictatorship.[46]
Thailand joined the US-led invasion of Iraq, sending a 423-strong humanitarian contingent. It withdrew its troops on 10 September 2004. Two Thai soldiers died in Iraq in an insurgent attack.
Abhisit appointed Peoples Alliance for Democracy leader Kasit Piromya as Foreign Minister. Prior to his appointment, Kasit had led anti-Cambodia protests and called Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen a "gangster minded (???????? jai-nak-leng)" (he later claimed the word he used actually meant "a person who is lionhearted, a courageous and magnanimous gentleman"). In April 2009, "large-scale fighting" erupted between Thai and Cambodian troops on territory immediately adjacent to the 900-year-old ruins of Cambodia's Preah Vihear Hindu temple near the border. The Cambodian government claimed its army had killed at least four Thais and captured 10 more, although the Thai government denied that any Thai soldiers were killed or injured. Two Cambodian soldiers were killed and three Thai soldiers were killed. Both armies blamed the other for firing first and denied entering the other's territory