King Naresuan the Great is a symbol of Thai national pride, his sword held high to smite the invading Burmese hordes. The 16th century hero is one of a cast of historical characters that, in folk tales and blockbuster Thai martial arts movies, continue to fan anti-Myanmar sentiment.
But has the tone now changed? A new statue of King Naresuan is about to be erected on the Thai-Myanmar border, in Chiang Rai's Mai Sai district, facing an equally strident-looking leader, King Bayinnaung, on the other side of the divide. But those hoping to see the Thai king brandishing his sword to ward off potential invaders, as he did in centuries past, will be disappointed. The Thai Foreign Ministry and the Fine Arts Department have decided to sheath the king's sword.
The reason? Thailand does not want to upset Myanmar. The Thai government has gone soft on the military junta, a regime that denied its people their democratic choice when it squashed the outcome of the 1990 national election and locked up victor, now vanquished, Aung San Suu Kyi. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's government has fallen for Yangon's line that they are 'pursuing democracy'. And there appears to be an underlying desire by Mr Thaksin's government to do business, in the literal sense.
You can almost hear General Wattanachai Chaimuanwong grinding his teeth. The former Third Army commander used to tear up and down the 2,400km border in a camouflaged army Humvee, making sure his troops fended off armed incursions and dealt with incoming artillery shells and illegal drugs - both potentially deadly. Now, he is in charge of the project to build the king's statue and a victory pagoda. And he has been told to sheath the sword.
General Wattanachai says the reason for the statue is to boost the morale of Thais and his country's soldiers. With the Tatmadaw, the notoriously brutal Myanmar army, and drug-running insurgents a rifle's range away, there are times when Thais living on the border need to swallow hard and hope their government is backing them up.
The Third Army certainly is. But there are pro-democracy groups who say the Thai government has been limp in its response to Yangon, claiming there are good reasons to be upset with Myanmar.