Sonthi Boonyaratglin, leader of Thailand's junta, said bluntly yesterday that he wanted to reverse Singapore's US$3.8 billion purchase of the telecommunications giant that was founded by Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister he ousted.
"I want my belongings back, especially the satellites," Sonthi said in a speech on patriotism five months after leading a bloodless coup against Thaksin, accusing him of rampant corruption.
Sonthi intensified a row with Singapore last month by suggesting military phone calls were being monitored following Singapore's takeover of Shin Corp.
Sonthi said he was working hard on the problem.
"I am looking at the country's assets and resources which have been bought by Singapore," Sonthi told 2,000 students and merchants, referring to the purchase last year by Singapore state firm Temasek.
It was the Thai army's duty not to "let anybody to take our national assets," he said. "National assets, no matter where they are located, always belong to Thailand and the Thai people."
"Do you want me to sit idly? My duty is to salvage the country and its assets," he said.
Temasek's takeover of Shin Corp gave it control of Advanced Info Service (AIS), Thailand's biggest mobile phone firm with a 45 percent share of a market in which more than half of the 64 million population has a mobile phone.
It also took over control of Shin Satellite, Thailand's only satellite firm, and the takeover prompted immediate charges that Thaksin's family had sold out national security.
Sonthi first railed against the deal last month.
Shin Satellite operates four telecom satellites that are owned by the Thai government but are run by the company.
Sonthi said that the satellites were "treasures."
"Our army has a problem now. When we make a call, the line goes to Singapore. When we talk secrets, they go straight to Singapore," Sonthi told high school students.
AIS and Shin Satellite denied they had ever eavesdropped on customer communications.
But Sonthi's remarks came hard on the heels of a diplomatic spat between the two ASEAN members last month over a meeting between the exiled Thaksin and a Singapore Cabinet minister.
That resulted in Bangkok's cancelation of an invitation to Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo, saying its ally ought to have been sensitive to the Thai government's feelings.
Singapore said the meeting was a private one with out political implications.
Thaksin's family sold its shares in Shin Corp to Temasek in a US$1.9 billion, tax-free deal one year ago, sparking street protests that precipitated the coup.
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