One adult in four can neither read nor write. Most of its people are Buddhist, and the country, as one of the biggest exporters of rice in the world, is in a leading economic position among the developing nations of Asia.
Thailand is hemmed in by Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Burma and has been proclaimed by Peking as the next target for Communist conquest. It is separated by a hundred miles of Burma and Laos from China.
Now, after centuries of diplomatic manoeuvres – policies which have been called divide and rule in reverse – the Government in Bangkok has become firmly allied with the United States and is strongly anti-Communist.
Directing this marked change in outlook is a predominantly military government, headed by Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn. Generals have dominated the political scene since 1932, when a group of officers and young civilians staged a coup d’etat, the first of a series which have punctuated recent Thai history. The coup did away with the old absolutist system and replaced it with a constitutional monarchy. However, the constitution has been suspended, abandoned and virtually ignored at various times.
One of the people on whom the film concentrates is Air Chief Marshal Dawee Chullasapya. Trained as a fighter pilot in Britain, he is now Deputy Defence Minister.