NEW YORK - The bloodless coup against a
democratically elected government in Thailand last
month has forced the United States to review its
military relations and suspend aid to one of
Washington's long-standing political allies in
Southeast Asia.
The administration of US
President George W Bush, which is seeking United
Nations sanctions against the military government
in neighboring Myanmar, has said the Thai military
coup was a
"U-turn" for democracy in
that politically stable region.
Thailand
and Myanmar are both members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), along with Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore,
Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos and
Vietnam.
But an ASEAN diplomat at the UN
says there is no justifiable comparison between
the two military governments. "The situation in
Thailand is quite different from Myanmar," he
said, speaking on condition of anonymity. No
doubt, he admitted, the coup was a setback for
democracy, but Thai society is resilient and
stable and will weather this setback.
"They have many strong anchors, including
Buddhism and a strong reverence for the king," he
said, pointing out that "Thailand will remain a
key member of ASEAN, and ASEAN will not do
anything to place Thailand in the dock, especially
so when they have taken the first steps to restore
constitutional government".
Since US law
forbids military assistance to countries where a
democratically elected government is ousted by a
military junta, the Bush administration has
already suspended some US$24 million in military
aid to Thailand.
The civilian government
was ousted when prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra
was in New York to address the UN General
Assembly. Instead of returning home, where he
would be likely to face charges of corruption,
Thaksin opted to fly to London, where he is in
virtual political exile.
Frida Berrigan,
senior research associate at the Arms Trade
Resource Center at the New York-based World Policy
Institute, said the US government's fiscal year
2007 international-affairs budget request for
military aid for Thailand praised the country as a
"stable democracy" that "serves as both a model
for development and democratization", and reminds
readers that it was designated a "major non-NATO
ally" in 2003.
The comparison to the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization has put Thailand in
the category of close US allies such as Israel and
Egypt. "This request was prepared in the early
months of 2006 and serves as a record of how
quickly things shift," Berrigan said.
She
said the US State Department is seeking to
pressure the Thai junta by suspending military aid
and continuing "to urge a rapid return to
democratic rule and early elections in Thailand".
The aid freeze - including outright grants
under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program
and under the International Military Education and
Training (IMET) program, as well as funding for
peacekeeping operations and counter-terrorism -
will continue until "a democratically elected
government takes office".
According to the
London-based military magazine Jane's Defence
Weekly, the US provision to suspend aid is
outlined in Section 508 of the Foreign Operations
Appropriations Act, which could shut down military
cooperation between the two long-standing
partners. "However, the obligations under Section
508 may be open to interpretation," the magazine
noted.
It can be argued that Thaksin was
not, in fact, a "duly elected head of government".
Although twice elected to power with substantial
popular support, the magazine said, the snap
election he called this April was boycotted by the
opposition and declared void by the courts.
Berrigan said that in each of the past few
years, Washington has provided Thailand with more
than $1 million in FMF and another $2 billion in
military training through the IMET. The request
also prioritizes increasing the "counter-terrorism
capabilities of Thailand's elite special-forces
units".
"It is worth noting that the
leaders of the military coup come from the ranks
of the special forces," Berrigan said.
In
addition to receiving millions of dollars in US
military aid, Thailand is also a significant buyer
of US-made weapons systems - taking delivery of
some $1.5 billion in military hardware in the past
10 years - including $179 million worth of
weaponry and hardware in 2004, and another $92
million in 2005.
As recently as this
April, Berrigan said, the US Defense Security
Cooperation Agency announced the possible sale of
$246 million worth of six MH-60S helicopters,
engines and spare parts.
Thailand's
military budget hovers at about $2 billion a year
- which means that taken together, US military
aid, support for training, and weapons sales makes
up about one-twentieth of the Thai military
priorities - a sizable (but not overwhelming)
chunk.
She also said that Thailand
announced a 10-year military buildup in 2005,
allocating $6.6 billion to beef up its armed
forces.
Asked whether Thailand would turn
to non-US sources for its arms requirements,
Berrigan said: "Even before the US freeze, China
and India have been courting Bangkok."
She
said China had sent Thailand two missile-armed
offshore-patrol boats, with combat systems
manufactured by a subsidiary of British Aerospace,
and there are plans for two more.
In
January, she pointed out, India hosted Thai
military personnel in a multilateral maritime
exercise that also included Indonesian, Malaysian,
Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and Myanmar naval units.
