Thailand seeks to develop military production facilities with China

By Thanarith Satrusayang | BANGKOK

 

Thailand and China are in talks about building military production facilities in Thailand, a Thai defense ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, the latest sign of warming relations between China and America's oldest ally in Asia.

 

Relations between Thailand and the United States cooled following a May 2014 military coup that the Thai military said was necessary to end months of unrest, including street protests that led to the ouster of an elected government.

 

The United States has said relations cannot return to normal until democracy is restored. The generals running Thailand have promised an election for 2017.

 

Full story: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-china-defense-idUSKBN14A0HM

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2016-12-21

This closeness to China is beginning to worry many...the Philipines with Duterte now starting to cuddle up, and his acceptance of the militarisation of the South China Sea.....threatening to oust the US from their land....Thailand with the military here openly considering joint projects....

Given that China has been very successful in the dealings with developing nations with many in Africa and the Pacific bending over for the money.....SE Asia could be no different.

The US must be seriously considering their options within this region....

 

3 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

This closeness to China is beginning to worry many...the Philipines with Duterte now starting to cuddle up, and his acceptance of the militarisation of the South China Sea.....threatening to oust the US from their land....Thailand with the military here openly considering joint projects....

Given that China has been very successful in the dealings with developing nations with many in Africa and the Pacific bending over for the money.....SE Asia could be no different.

The US must be seriously considering their options within this region....

 

 

The US better doesn't tell others what to do, the army in control was about the last possible move for Thailand or it would have been in a civil war.

 

And the same goes for the Phillipines, they have their own problems and are free to solve them as they like. Who does the US think they are? Only 250 million persons who think they can rule the world. What an attitude. And where are the weapons of mass destruction by the way. still searching?

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

 

the army in control was about the last possible move for Thailand or it would have been in a civil war.

 

 

Except that the anti-government protests were covertly organized and supported by segments of the military, they have already done something similar on 12-18 occasions over the past century, depending on who's counting, and Gen P. + Suthep had been planning the one-two punch takeover for three years, according to the rabblerouser's comments before he was whisked off to the monkhood in order to shut him up.

 

We needn't whitewash history about this, because the evidence is all a matter of public record if you search for it. It was a planned takeover, not a necessary intervention. They just wanted it to appear that way.

The sudden importance of China and all these pathetic reciprocal visits show how ostracised the Thai military 'government 'are from the rest of the world - and quite rightly so. The sooner they are gone the better for the country.

Just another example of the junta's desire to pal-up to the increasingly bellicose strongman of the Asia-Pacific, as a show bravado for the West's rejection of their legitimacy. 

 

This is also being reported on a number of media sites in China. But, like the following extract from the Shanghai Daily (http://mobile.shanghaidaily.com/nation/Military-talks-as-ThaiChina-ties-warm-up/shdaily.shtml) the issue is treated in a much less menacing perspective:

“The defense minister told his Chinese counterpart we are interested in setting up facilities to repair and maintain the Chinese equipment we currently have in our arsenal...We will also look to their expertise in producing small arms and other security-related equipment like drones.”

 

Interestingly, the Shanghai Daily goes on to mention that Thailand has also held talks with Russia about similar facilities. 

 

So, it's unlikely we'll see any adjustment of (the junta's) attitude, towards the West, any time soon!

 

 

It looks like it is already heading to become the 24th province of China.  Thailand brags about its good relationship with North Korea too.   This behavior is not all that surprising. 

I would suggest that one of these military production facilities be a submarine factory.

19 hours ago, webfact said:

military production facilities in Thailand

I am all for this. Can't think of a more covert way for the US to surreptitiously corrupt chinese military hardware than having it made in Thailand.

15 hours ago, fruitman said:

 

Who does the US think they are? Only 250 million persons who think they can rule the world.

 

 

318.9 million, FWIW

 

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=usa+population&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gws_rd=cr&ei=c0lbWLzBKcvTvgSU_r0o

1 minute ago, Ricardo said:

 

318.9 million, FWIW

 

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=usa+population&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gws_rd=cr&ei=c0lbWLzBKcvTvgSU_r0o

I see, well China has 1.3 billion and Thailand 70 million.....So 300 million americans like to tell them what to do? And it even doesn't stop there, they like to tell the rest of the world as well. 500 million Europeans or 250 million Indonesians the americans want to control them all.

15 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

This closeness to China is beginning to worry many...the Philipines with Duterte now starting to cuddle up, and his acceptance of the militarisation of the South China Sea.....threatening to oust the US from their land....Thailand with the military here openly considering joint projects....

Given that China has been very successful in the dealings with developing nations with many in Africa and the Pacific bending over for the money.....SE Asia could be no different.

The US must be seriously considering their options within this region....

 

 

Worry is not the appropriate term. The reason why Thailand must turn to China is because the major arms manufacturers  are subject to export laws  (of convenience) that make it difficult to sell arms to  military governments and/or those accused of significant human rights abuses.   The major powers will  find ways to push an arms sale through if the  order is big enough and the sale is a sure thing. And therein lies the problem with Thailand: The sales are not worth the political hassle and more importantly, being paid promptly and not having to deal with the issues of bribery are key determinants.   

 

The USA has normalized relations with Vietnam. US strategic allies Australia and Canada have taken the lead of facilitating military rapprochement on behalf of the USA, with their naval vessel visits and proxy military outreach. India, is doing its utmost to bring Myanmar back onside as it does not want the Chinese influence to grow. 

 

 

15 hours ago, fruitman said:

 

The US better doesn't tell others what to do, the army in control was about the last possible move for Thailand or it would have been in a civil war.

 

And the same goes for the Phillipines, they have their own problems and are free to solve them as they like. Who does the US think they are? Only 250 million persons who think they can rule the world. What an attitude. And where are the weapons of mass destruction by the way. still searching?

 

The Philippines  needs the USA and Canada more than they need it. The country is one assassination away from a regime change and the likelihood is that it will happen sooner than later. The Japanese are the most important  source of investment and foreign aid and if they are unhappy with  Chinese encroachment you can be assured  that  Duterte knows about it.

 

In respect to the weapons of mass destruction that you refer to, there were three components;

1. Biological, 2. Chemical and 3. Nuclear. The chemical and biological weapons were found. They were disposed of at great expense. This has never been disputed and has been documented. There was no public confirmation that completed nuclear weapons were found. Yellow cake uranium from Tuwaitha was sent to Canada for reprocessing. This too  has not been disputed.  If you wish to raise the issue then do so in an honest fashion.

 

 

 

37 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

In respect to the weapons of mass destruction that you refer to, there were three components;

1. Biological, 2. Chemical and 3. Nuclear. The chemical and biological weapons were found. They were disposed of at great expense. This has never been disputed and has been documented. There was no public confirmation that completed nuclear weapons were found. Yellow cake uranium from Tuwaitha was sent to Canada for reprocessing. This too  has not been disputed.  If you wish to raise the issue then do so in an honest fashion.

 

 

Biological and chemical weapons are still being used in the middle-east, why the US doesn't go after them?

 

And if those weapons were found and disposed why wasn't it on the news in the allied countries?? Don't they deserve to see the results of their fighting/helping the US?

 

 

Why would China want production facilities set up in Thailand? Just set them up in their own country.

Tibet! What's it like? Here we come!

22 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand and China are in talks about building military production facilities in Thailand, a Thai defense ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, the latest sign of warming relations between China and America's oldest ally in Asia.

Accompanying music could be "We are off to see the wizard" Which one is the wizard? I leave that up to you. 

Hey fruitman you appear to have a chip on your shoulder towards the US. it may not be perfect but in the end of the day it is still a great place. Americans are hardworking, for the most case honest, giving people. You should check it out, you may find your prejudices may be clouding your judgement. 

19 hours ago, fruitman said:

 

The US better doesn't tell others what to do, the army in control was about the last possible move for Thailand or it would have been in a civil war.

 

And the same goes for the Phillipines, they have their own problems and are free to solve them as they like. Who does the US think they are? Only 250 million persons who think they can rule the world. What an attitude. And where are the weapons of mass destruction by the way. still searching?

I am from the US and I and probably the majority of US citizens agree that we should keep our nose out of other countries affairs. The attack in the bay of Tonkin that was the catalyst for the Vietnam war has been reported by many on that US ship to have never happened. I think the whole world knows that G W Bush orchestrated the Iraq war based on his blatant lies.  That said I think if I were Thailand I would be a little worried about China.  If the US didn't care about it I think China would take all of SE Asia in a matter of weeks. Japan and Australia could hold up for a month or so. I think it is sad that the rest of the "free" world relies so heavily on the US to protect them. If other countries spent as much on military as the US does their taxes would drive the people into the ground. Catch 22 I guess.

          Japan is starting to build up its defense and may again be a super power to China's dismay.

5 hours ago, yellowboat said:

It looks like it is already heading to become the 24th province of China.  Thailand brags about its good relationship with North Korea too.   This behavior is not all that surprising. 

I have never heard that part about North Korea, are you sure you don't mean South Korea? I don't know, I am just asking.

Sure, a country should be able to murder, imprison,  and enslave their citizens if they want.  In reality, everyone should do what they want there should be no order.  Dunce

1 hour ago, Grubster said:

I have never heard that part about North Korea, are you sure you don't mean South Korea? I don't know, I am just asking.

 North Korea is a trade partner and recently celebrated 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

https://www.nknews.org/2015/05/thai-delegation-in-north-korea/

 

 

7 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

 North Korea is a trade partner and recently celebrated 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

https://www.nknews.org/2015/05/thai-delegation-in-north-korea/

 

 

Looks like they are indeed trading partners, I'm not sure they are bragging about it though.  I guess I can understand how Thailand needs to sell their goods somewhere.  I sure hope they don't try to rely on China, Russia and North Korea too much or I'm afraid we may not be welcome here at all some day.