Gen Apirat is notoriously hot-headed and the most ardent of ultra-royalists.
Workers produce small motors at a MinebeaMitsumi plant in Cambodia.
On 8 February, the Thai Party Thai Raksa Chart Phak Thai Raksa Chat nominated Princess Ubol Ratana Ubonrat Ratchakanya Siriwatthana Phannawadi as their candidate for the post of Prime Minister.
Aquino faces criminal charges over Mamasapano raid The Philippine Office of the Ombudsman on July 14 filed criminal charges against former president Benigno Aquino over the botched 2015 raid at Mamasapano in the southern province of Mindanao that led to more than 60 deaths, including those of 44 police commandos.
In May a new law placed a number of state agencies connected to the running of the palace directly under the king's control.
It suggested that skepticism is warranted over the chances that diplomatic efforts will lead to any game-changing breakthroughs in the near term and that ongoing developments, including militarization of artificial islands and resource competition, could significantly alter the dynamics of this long-running and entrenched dispute.