Former deputy director of National Intelligence Agency Nantiwat Samart has questioned the concept of inviting Chinese police to join their Thai counterparts on patrol in main tourist provinces, ostensibly to boost the confidence of Chinese nationals in Thailand.

In his Facebook post today, the former spy chief said that he wonders who initiated the idea. He asked whether the idea is rooted in fear or is a joke, adding that if other foreign tourists want their police to do the same, will the Thai government allow them to do so?

He went on to say that allowing Chinese police to operate here amounts to a slap in the face to the Thai police. “Are the Thai police that bad?” he asked, adding that, if there are insufficient police to provide protection to Chinese tourists, the logical way to solve this problem is to increase Thai manpower or to ask local officials to help the police.

Nantiwat also questioned whether there is there something strange about there currently being an unusually high number of news reports related to China. He then cited a statement, issued by the Chinese embassy in Thailand during the weekend, complaining about a Thai media report of a Taiwanese separatist talking about the independence of Taiwan.

According to Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool, the idea of inviting Chinese police to operate in Thailand with Thai police was initiated by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, citing the example of Italy.

Thapanee said that the idea was raised by the prime minister during his official visit to Beijing in October and it has been discussed between Thai authorities and Chinese embassy officials.