Most Powerful Military Forces in Southern and Eastern Asia

Thailand

Known as the “Royal Thai Armed Forces”, Thailand’s military force consists of several branches, army, navy and air force. While Thailand’s had the occasional conflict with its neighbors – particularly its border crisis with Cambodia – most of its conflicts are internal and in the form of uprisings in the south.

They also have the occasional military coup every few decades, with 2014 being the most recent. Thailand’s a relatively neutral party in the south China sea dispute, hence most of their firepower is aimed at suppressing dissent within.

credit: Wikipedia
In terms of military might, Thailand has 75 fighter crafts (ranked 29th in the world), 2359 combat tanks and armored vehicles, 30 rocket projectors, 1 aircraft carrier (zero destroyers), and 80 other naval assets. They also have 360,000 active personnel, 245,000 others in reserve and a special operations warfare command.

As one of the largest economies in Asia (8th highest GDP), Thailand spends just $5 billion or 1.09% on military defense, most of which goes into modernization of what it currently has, rather than acquiring new artilleries. Thailand military spending has increased dramatically since 2006 by over $1 billion.