BANGKOK (AP) — The question to Thailand’s army chief was a basic one: After he declared martial law this week, would he be consulting the government? His response encapsulated the increasingly surreal nature of this Southeast Asian country’s political crisis.

“Where is the government right now? Where are they now? I don’t know,” Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha snapped before adding awkwardly: “I’m not interfering with the government, or anybody.”