On May 21, 2025, Mr. Jirat Thongsuwan, Member of Parliament (MP) for Chachoengsao from the People’s Party and spokesperson of the House Military Affairs Committee, revealed via X (formerly Twitter) that he received a summons from Don Mueang Police Station. The Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Air Force, Phanphakdi Phatthanarong, has filed a defamation lawsuit against him. The issue stems from a no-confidence debate where Jirat alleged that the Royal Thai Air Force demanded 3 billion baht in compensation from Airports of Thailand (AOT) in exchange for relinquishing the “Kantarat Golf Course”—also known as “Snake Field”—situated in the middle of Don Mueang Airport’s runway. Jirat mentioned he had previously been warned about possible legal action and has now requested to postpone the hearing to June 9 due to prior commitments.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chetawan Tueprakhon, MP for Pathum Thani from the same party and a fellow member of the Military Affairs Committee, expressed support for Jirat via Facebook. He criticized the lawsuit, noting that Jirat was not the first to bring up the compensation claim. The issue had been discussed multiple times in a special House committee reviewing military business transfers. He added that even the Air Force and AOT representatives acknowledged the figure and provided calculation breakdowns, which are available in official meeting records.
Chetawan urged the Royal Thai Air Force to drop the lawsuit, arguing it sends a negative signal about civil-military relations and undermines the role of MPs who are merely fulfilling their duty to scrutinize government and military affairs on behalf of the public.