ZONE:

The Thai military has announced plans to exempt gay men and transvestites from the draft, claiming that allowing them to serve could make the armed forces 'collapse', the Associated Press reports.

Army commander general Somdhat Atthanand was quoted as saying in the Thai language Matichon newspaper that being gay, a cross-dresser or a transvestite could create problems for the military because they may have physical attributes that are inappropriate.

"The military has to keep them out, which is not because we are prejudiced but because we fear that the military will collapse."

Somdhat said gay men and transgendered people would be identified during medical and psychological examinations at draft centers and sent back home.

Currently, Thai males are required to serve in the military for two years once they are 20 years of age. The conscription is done once every year, and up to 80,000 men are expected to be drafted this year between April 1 and April 11.

In the past, gay men and transgendered people have been drafted but later expelled after being found unable to adjust to army life. The military has also faced embarrassment in the past over transsexual draftees when men with long hair and surgically implanted breasts strip for medical check-ups with other conscripts at draft centres.