<div> <div>Despite a growing deficit, Thailand’s junta-appointed parliament has voted unanimously in favour of a draft government budget that allocates an extra 8.8 billion baht to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2018.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 8 June 2017, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the head of the country’s junta, dedicated two and a half hours to clarifying to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) the details of a draft government budget of 2.99 trillion baht for 2018.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>220 billion baht is allocated to the MoD, an increase from last year of 8.8 billion baht </div></div>