Importing American Weapons, American Values

Thailand is one of America's strongest allies in Southeast Asia, and, until the recent economic crisis, one of its largest arms importers. Since 1993 Thailand has been approved for arms totaling more than $2.55 billion in both Foreign Military Sales and Direct Contract Sales.

In recent years, however, budget constraints have forced the U.S. to close four consulates and 15 United States Information Agency (USIA) offices, as well as decrease military assistance. This in turn has Thailand eyeing other countries for arms, and those nations are now giving U.S. companies a run for their money.

The U.S. has trained 21,000 Thai soldiers...	...to help create a force that "prefers U.S.-origin equipment."

In order for the U.S. to maintain a working level of trust and international partnership with Thailand as well as keep competing weapons-makers from closing massive arms deals, the U.S. has been on the verge of financing and selling millions in sophisticated weapons. One May 1996 sale that gained international attention and competition was Thailand's interest in purchasing eight F/A-18 C/D Hornet fighters from Boeing -- part of a package worth nearly $600 million, according to the Conventional Arms Transfer Project and the Federation of American Scientists' Arms Sales Monitoring Project.

The deal fell through in 1997 when Thailand could no longer make its payments due to the economic crisis -- and the U.S. ate the tab for eight very expensive aircraft.

Thailand also bought $100 million in tanks in 1997: 107 General Dynamics M60A3s with 105mm guns and thermal sight capability, overhaul and upgrade package, 107 .50-caliber and 7.62 mm machine guns, engines with containers, radios, and support equipment.

The U.S. was willing to pick up such a monster check partly out of desperation to secure export trade to the area, remain active in the region's spotty "war" on opium, and maintain its influence on the Thai military. "[More than] 21,000 Thai students have been trained at U.S. military institutions," in order to maintain a force that "admires U.S. military doctrine, appreciates American values, and generally prefers U.S. origin equipment in their modernization programs," according to the State Department.

U.S. arms sales in the Clinton years Direct government sales Government approved sales (scale in millions of dollars)

The U.S. has maintained its supportive position for decades, despite rumors in the 1970s and 1980s that some weapons supplied to Thailand were ending up in the hands of the genocidal Khmer Rouge. In March 1997 Global Witness, an organization that advocates for human rights and environmental protection, chastised the U.S. for giving funds to Thailand, which had allegedly continued supporting Khmer Rouge logging (a big money-earner for the group's guerrilla army).

More recently, Amnesty International denounced Thailand for refusing entry to thousands of Karen refugees who have been living on Thailand's border with Burma and have been subjected to forced labor, beatings, and extrajudicial executions. Thailand's answer? Their refugee camps overflow with more than 100,000 already and can't support any more.

Ironically, the State Department's 1997 human-rights report fails to mention these incidents, while taking pains to discuss the dismal situation of 20,000 to 40,000 Thai children involved in prostitution -- a business widely ignored but commonly suspected to be supported by the Thai government.

--Suzie Larsen

Flags courtesy of World Flag Database
Photos by Olivier Guarrigues/Sipa