This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: "National Intelligence Agency" Thailand – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Some of this article's listed sources may not be reliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed. (July 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
National Intelligence Agency
สํานักข่าวกรองเเห่งชาติ
Agency overview
Formed1 January 1954; 70 years ago (1954-01-01)
TypeGovernment agency
JurisdictionGovernment of Thailand
HeadquartersParuskavan Palace
Bangkok, Thailand
MottoDetermination, devotion, discipline, sacrifice and dedicated to the nation and its people
Annual budget717.8 million baht (FY2019)
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • Tanat Suwannanon, Director
Parent agencyOffice of the Prime Minister
WebsiteOfficial website

The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) (Thai: สํานักข่าวกรองเเห่งชาติ) is an intelligence and security agency of Thailand. It serves as part of the Office of the Prime Minister.[1][2] Its headquarters is in Paruskavan Palace, Bangkok.

History

The government established the "Department of Administrative Intelligence" under the Cabinet of Thailand on 1 January 1954. Phao Sriyanond was appointed as its first director.[3] On 2 December 1959 it was renamed the Department of Administrative Intelligence and renamed again as the "National Intelligence Agency (NIA)" during the government of Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda.[4]

In 1985, the "National Intelligence Act, B.E. 2528 (1985)" made the NIA the lead Thai intelligence agency.[5] The reality as of 2016 was that seven Thai intelligence agencies—the NIA, Army Intelligence, Navy Intelligence, Air Force Intelligence, Armed Forces Security Center, Special Branch Bureau, and Internal Security Operations Command—mostly function independently of one another.[6] In 2017, a plan was hatched to consolidate the efforts of 27 separate Thai intelligence agencies.[1]

In 2019, the government implemented the "National Intelligence Act, B.E. 2562 (2019)," which marked a significant milestone. This act established the National Intelligence Coordination Center (NICC) as an agency within the National Intelligence Agency. The NICC's primary responsibility is to serve as a central hub for coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence efforts with other domestic intelligence agencies and also public authorities.[7]

News reports appearing in early 2020 indicate that Thail intelligence agency, National Intelligence Agency was a customer of Crypto AG, a Swiss company secretly owned by the US CIA and West German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) that manufactured compromised encryption machines. Use of the devices may have allowed its coded messages to be deciphered.[8]

Budget

The FY2019 budget of the NIA is 717.8 million baht.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Thailand To Consolidate Work of 27 Intelligence Agencies". Defenseworld.net. 2017-07-13. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b Thailand's Budget in Brief Fiscal Year 2019 (Revised ed.). Bangkok: Bureau of the Budget (Thailand). 2018. p. 83. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  3. ^ [1] บทความเรื่อง: การประชาสัมพันธ์ข่าวของสํานัก - กรมประชาสัมพันธ์
  4. ^ [2] จับตาสแกนลายพราง: ‘สำนักข่าวกรองแห่งชาติ’ หน่วยงานข่าวกรองของ ‘พลเรือน’
  5. ^ "National Intelligence Act" (Unofficial translation). Office of the Council of State. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  6. ^ Chongkittavorn, Kavi (11 January 2016). "Thai intelligence agencies need a revamp" (Opinion). The Nation. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  7. ^ ศูนย์ประสานข่าวกรองแห่งชาติ
  8. ^ Miller, Greg (11 February 2020). "How the CIA used Crypto AG encryption devices to spy on countries for decades". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
Categories