Politics and national security are intertwined and this is especially true under the current political climate.

Social divide fuelled by months of political strife has reared its ugly head, threatening to undermine the royal institution in the process.

The threat has crept too close to the highest institution, thereby alarming the military which has sworn an oath of allegiance to protect the monarchy.

The issues of politics have transcended the bounds of national security, and army chief Anupong Paojinda, concurrently deputy director of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), is not taking it lightly. "The nature of the problems is no longer political. They have become a security concern," he said.

As a matter of priority, Gen Anupong has circulated orders to army units to "x-ray" areas in the North and Northeast where lese majeste is believed rife. The crime is reported to be perpetrated by coordinated networks responsible for handing out leaflets, rumour-mongering and even vandalising portraits.

The kernel of the anti-lese majeste mission will be a tight scrutiny of offending websites. Each battalion will zero in on one website.

Soldiers will read the webboard attacking the royal institution and military leaders and post comments to clarify or straighten out misinformation.

The daunting task, however, has been the rapid proliferation of such websites, numbering over 1,200 at present. Many of them are registered "incognito", opened under the guise of some innocent names.

Army Chief-of-Staff Prayuth Chan-ocha is at the forefront of the cyber war against the lese majeste elements. He has received instructions from the army chief to deal with the offenders using all means and resources possible.

The army-sponsored web screener code-named "6080 Ad Hoc Unit" also keeps suspicious movements on a leash. Where necessary, the unit will tap phones - an act permitted by the National Security Act - and record interviews and public speeches of politicians. The army will alert the police to anything that points to lese majeste.

Gen Prayuth, himself a Queen's Guardsman, has been enlisted to clamp down on the anti-lese majeste activities, both covert and overt. Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda has spoken with the general and voiced his personal concern about the show of disrespect to the royal institution.

Gen Prem has been heard to complain that the contents of some websites were so outrageously malicious and baseless that he could not bear to read them through.

The lese majeste clampdown may also have lessened a perceived alienation between the Democrat party and the military. The ruling party's ties with the military have been set against a rather lukewarm background, noted for the small number of top brass subscribing to the party membership; those who did become members did not last very long in the party.

It is said that anti-coup sentiments run deep among the Democrats.

But a rare concession has been made in the case of former army chief Prawit Wongsuwan, whom the party has hand-picked for the defence portfolio in the cabinet.

One theory states that the choice of Gen Prawit may have been a "reward" for the army's alleged exertion of power behind closed doors to helpfully intervene in getting the current government formed. More importantly, the Democrats and the military now have a shared objective to accomplish: weed out the lese majeste culprits.

Gen Prawit, also honoured as a Queen's Guardsman, has affirmed that the most crucial task at hand is to safeguard the throne. Gen Prawit, Gen Anupong and Gen Prayuth, being three of the most prominent Queen's Guardsmen, have sworn by their uniforms to act as the anchor of the foundation of loyalty to the monarchy.

Strategically speaking, Gen Prayuth is being positioned as Gen Anupong's heir-apparent to take over the top army post in the next two years. The next army chief needs to be one whose respect for the palace is beyond any doubt, as the predictions are that the country will be rocked by episodes of political turmoil which could affect the highest institution. Gen Prayuth, who has performed protection duties for Her Majesty since his early years in the military service, will constitute the main force repelling those with misguided ideology.

In a recent meeting of high- and medium-ranking army commanders, Gen Prayuth acknowledged that the lese majeste movement is being orchestrated in a concerted effort to benefit "one individual".

Battered by serious allegations that he plotted to overthrow the country's system of constitutional monarchy in favour of a presidential government, convicted fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra has categorically denied that he feigned allegiance to the monarchy, a charge levelled against him by the Council of National Security which deposed him in the 2006 military coup.

Thaksin - who fled the country after being sentenced in absentia to two years in jail for helping his former wife, Khunying Potjaman Damapong, acquire a plot of prime real estate in the Ratchadaphisek area at a heavily discounted price - has stuck to his guns, claiming he has been assailed by opponents in power who "planted" these allegations in order to bury him politically.

Wassana Nanuam reports on military affairs for the Bangkok Post.