 He served his two years of conscription mostly as a singer for the Air Force's military band, and was chosen as part of a cultural exchange delegation to the People's Republic of China in 1957.However, when Sarit Thanarat took power by coup shortly after their return, the delegates became accused of being Communist supporters, and Suthep had to flee to Japan, where he attended the Tokyo University of the Arts for three years before being allowed to return and resume his singing career.In 1967, Suthep began writing as a columnist, first about the country's music scene for "Fah Muang Thai" magazine, then expanding in 1970 to write about politics for "Thairath", "Ban Muang", "Siam Rath", and several other newspapers.