Thai military swears allegiance to king at parade

Thailand's king presided over an oath-taking ceremony Saturday at an army base where almost 7,000 soldiers and police paraded to mark Armed Forces Day. The government announced that the ceremony was not only to mark Armed Forces Day, but also to honour the king's coronation, which took place last year. Vajiralongkorn gave his thanks for their oath of allegiance and said he hoped they would all keep their promise to work for the benefit of the nation and the people. The monarchy and the military are the two most powerful institutions in Thailand, and exercise major influence over the country's fragile democracy, evidenced most recently by coups the army staged in 2006 and 2014.