The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on the controversy over NASA's request to use an airbase in Thailand. Here it is:
BANGKOK–Plans for the U.S. government to expand its use of a Thai military airbase have created a stir in Thailand, with domestic politics likely playing a significant role in the controversy, according to a Thailand security expert.
The U.S.’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, had appeared set to use the U-Tapao naval airbase, located approximately 100 miles southeast of Bangkok, for a six week
atmospheric research study in August and September. The project would examine, among other issues, how emissions affect the atmosphere and monsoon rains. Separately, the U.S. and Thailand have
recently held discussions about establishing a regional humanitarian assistance and disaster relief center at U-Tapao – which became famous as a staging ground for U.S. missions during the Vietnam War – that could be used to respond to future natural disasters.
Opposition lawmakers, however, have railed against the NASA plan in recent weeks, saying Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra should more carefully examine the proposal because it could compromise Thai sovereignty and upset the country’s relations with China. Critics argue that the arrangement could signal American intentions to ramp up its military presence in Thailand in order to counter Chinese influence in the region, and that NASA aircraft could be used for espionage. The U.S. and Thailand have been treaty allies since 1954.
Some detractors
have even claimed that the agreement with NASA could represent a tit for tat scheme between Thailand and the U.S. According to this theory, Ms. Yingluck would grant the U.S. access to U-Tapao so that her older brother, the divisive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, could receive a U.S. visa in turn. Mr. Thaksin has mostly lived in self-imposed exile since he was overthrown in a bloodless military coup in 2006, and his travel is restricted to a handful of countries.
“The NASA program is purely scientific in nature and is intended for the good of all humanity,” said Kristin Kneedler, a spokeswoman at the U.S. embassy in Bangkok. “All the data generated will be available to anyone via the Internet and scientific results will be published in the open scientific literature.”
Ms. Kneedler told Southeast Asia Real Time that Thailand and neighboring countries “stand to gain substantial benefit from collaborating with NASA on this project,” and that the study will generate information that will enhance Thailand’s “ability to anticipate and mitigate the impact of future floods and better understand climate change.” Parts of Thailand were swamped last year by the worst floods in decades, with several industrial estates hit and global supply chains disrupted.
Asked about speculation regarding a supposed deal to grant Mr. Thaksin a U.S. visa in exchange for NASA’s use of U-Tapao, Ms. Kneedler said simply that “all visa applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the requirements of U.S. immigration law. We do not exchange visas for favors.”
The issue has dominated local headlines in recent weeks, even though the plan has been in the works for some time,
according to Thai officials. Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul last week noted that the Thai government and NASA signed a joint statement of intent for civil space activities in 2010, when former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva — now head of the opposition Democrat party — was in office. Mr. Surapong added that both Singapore and Cambodia — countries whose airspace would also be used in the study — have given NASA the green light. He also noted that Thailand had informed China of the project, and that no objections had been raised.
Now, Mr. Surapong says, a deadline is looming. He has warned that NASA will cancel its plans to use U-Tapao if it does not receive an answer from Thailand by Tuesday, since the agency needs ample time to arrange for the transport of its equipment. (Ms. Kneedler did not comment on the deadline, but said NASA “needs appropriate time to organize logistics.”)
On Tuesday afternoon, a report from the
official MCOT news agency said that Ms. Yingluck’s Cabinet had “resolved to forward the request” from NASA to Parliament for a debate — though that body will not be in session again until August. The report said that Ms. Yingluck’s Cabinet had agreed to allow NASA to use U-Tapao, but only if the issue is open for parliamentary debate in order to provide transparency. Ms. Yingluck noted, however, that the body’s approval is not required to give NASA the go-ahead, and that the delay could result in the project’s cancellation.
Anthony Davis, a Thailand-based security analyst with global research firm IHS-Jane’s, said that while the U-Tapao issue is naturally a sensitive one for Thailand since American agencies would be using a Thai airfield, the uproar is “almost entirely about domestic politics and bad American timing, but primarily the former.” Thailand has experienced continued social and political upheaval since Mr. Thaksin was ousted, and Thai lawmakers last month
scuffled in Parliament over an amnesty bill that could lead to his return.
Democrat Party spokesperson Chavanond Intarakomalyasut has denied that his party is attempting to disrupt the government’s plans, according to official news reports. He says the Democrats simply want the government to provide the public with more information about NASA’s project.
Mr. Davis noted that the U.S. request to use U-Tapao comes not merely amid Thai political turbulence, but also at a time of heightened perceptions of strategic competition between the U.S. and China in the region. Still, “the primary driver here is Thai domestic politics and its ongoing dysfunction,” Mr. Davis said.
The U.S. government has a long history with U-Tapao. In addition to its use during the Vietnam War, the facility was used during relief operations following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, as well as after Cyclone Nargis in 2008. American, Thai and other troops now access the airbase in an annual multinational joint military training exercise called Cobra Gold. U-Tapao is also home to a commercial airport that was used briefly in 2008 to take in an overflow of passengers who were stranded when anti-government protesters shut down Bangkok’s main Suvarnabhumi international airport.
Thailand's foreign ministry says it will hold new talks with Myanmar aimed at settling the disputed border line between the two countries. The Bangkok Post reports that the news was released at a weekend seminar in Chiang Mai focused on border disputes between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.
Divers have recovered the body of Philippine Interior Minister Jesse Robredo, after a small plane carrying him and three others went down off the coast of Masbate City, about 450 km south of Manila. Divers also recovered the bodies of the plane's two pilots from the wreckage. An aide to Robredo survived and was rescued shortly after the Piper Seneca crashed Saturday afternoon.
The arrival of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan has done little to quell unrest in Thailand’s largely Muslim southern states. The government recently announced an injection of an extra $12.4m in emergency funding to boost military operations in the region in an attempt to stop what Thai media report to be an increase in the number of attacks since the start of Ramadan. This move may bring a superficial peace to the south, but Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s suggestion that state television channels deliver news and official information in the local Yawi dialect ultimately may be the start of a more interesting and positive shift.
