Commentary

US military assistance to Thailand

By Rachel Stohl

In Human Security & Governance

May 28, 2014

By Rachel Stohl, Shannon Dick, and Axelle Klincke:

The United States is reviewing the entirety of its military assistance to Thailand in response to the May 22 coup, in which the Thai military suspended the constitution and took control of the government. Less than 36 hours after the coup, The United States suspended $3.5 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and International Military Education and Training (IMET) funds. The United States is now undertaking a review of additional assistance programs to ensure that any US military assistance supports democratic governance and other US foreign policy and national security objectives, while also assisting Thailand’s strategic capabilities in the region.

This is the second time in eight years that the United States has withheld military assistance to Thailand due to the overthrow of a democratically elected government. In 2006, the United States suspended over $29 million in military assistance for a year-and-a-half after a military coup that deposed then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In announcing the current military assistance review, Secretary of State John Kerry stated “there is no justification for this military coup.”

Under Section 508 of the Foreign Assistance Act, the United States is prohibited from continuing to provide military assistance to any country whose elected leader is deposed from power by a coup d’état. Thailand has been a significant recipient of US military assistance in East Asia, and one of the United States’ oldest allies in the region. The country is also a Major Non-NATO Ally and is therefore eligible for a number of benefits that facilitate the rapid provision of military assistance.

Thailand’s coup poses yet another test to the updated US conventional arms transfer policy. The United States will face a key tension in determining how much aid to withhold.

The data below represents US military assistance to Thailand from major military assistance programs (International Military Education and Training (IMET), Foreign Military Financing (FMF), Direct Commercial Sales (DCS), Foreign Military Sales (FMS), and Excess Defense Articles (EDA)) since 2005. Thailand also receives other military assistance through a variety of other accounts administered by a number of US government agencies, including the Departments of State, Defense and Combatant Commands.

	Thailand
Fiscal Year	IMET	FMF	DCS	FMS	EDA
FY 05	$2,526,000	$1,488,000	Authorized (country total): $117,405,873	Agreements: $16,326,000 Deliveries: $91,513,000	0
FY 06	$2,369,000	$1,485,000	Authorized (country total): $94,789,958	Agreements: $74,236,000 Deliveries: $82,377,000	0
FY 07	0	0	Authorized (country total): $146,419,597 Categories: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV,	Agreements: $86,823,000 Deliveries: $45,715,000	0
FY 08	$1,202,000	$423,000	Authorized: $226,105,548 Shipped: $74,589,000 Categories: I, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV	Agreements: $52,938,000 Deliveries: $39,548,000	0
FY09	$1,459,000	$1,600,000	Authorized: $199,305,414 Shipped: $36,488,806 Categories: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV	Agreements: $52,116,000 Deliveries: $47,263,000	0
FY10	$1,517,000	$1,600,000	Authorized: $211,917,485 Shipped: $38,391,621 Categories: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV	Agreements: $141,106,000 Deliveries: $41,568,000	$100,000 (AVIATION SPARES AND REPAIR PARTS (P-3, H-1 &H-60)
FY11	$1,568,000	$1,568,000	Authorized: $353,870,762 Shipped: $60,428,832 Categories: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XXI	Agreements: $252,157,000 Deliveries: $91,249,000	$3,484,556.22 (Demolition Kit (times two), CTG Dynamite, M1, Detonator (x3), Coupling Base, Signal SMK, Signal AN- M45 Series, Signal AN- M44 Series, Signal AN-M43 Series, Signal Illium, AN-M37, CTG 105MM, Primer, MK2A4, CTG 105MM, CTG 40MM, CTG 20MM / M220, CTG 20MM, CTG 50 Call Ball, M8, CTG 50 Cal Ball, Tracer, CTG 22 Cal Ball, CTG 5.56MM Tracer)
FY12	$1,318,000	$1,187,000	Authorized: $124,135,957 Shipped: $24,997,501 Categories: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XX	Agreements: $163,849,000 Deliveries: $61,886,000	$6,329,045.40 (Engine trailer for F100 Engine, F-100-PW-220/E Engine, Truck utility M1026A, M1037A0, M1038A0, Truck dump M929A2, M930A2, M998A0 HMMWV)
FY13	$1,319,000	$1,424,000	N/A	N/A	0
FY14 (req)	Estimate: $1,300,000	$988,000	N/A	N/A	N/A
FY 15 (req)	Request: $2,100,000	Request: $900,000	N/A	N/A	N/A