US-Thailand relations as per former Ambassador Arcilla

VFA Termination: Untold Stories from Ex-Envoy to UN

Former Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Reynaldo Arcilla revealed some facts about the relations between Thailand and the United States (US):

* Up to now, any offense committed by an American Soldier in Thailand and that Soldier will be tried by a Thai Court and sent to a Thai Jail.

* No Status of Forces Agreement (SoFA) or Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the US and Thailand, just the “Rusk-Thanat Khoman Statement” which is just a Press Statement.

* Thailand got more Aid from the US than the Philippines back in the 1990s.

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I’m surprised that the US does not have a formal VFA with Thailand up to now since they do post a significant presence there. For example, the US co-sponsors with Thailand the annual Cobra Gold Exercise, one of the largest Combined Training Exercises (CTE) in the world today.

This is probably because they don’t have a MDT with Thailand like they do with us. But this brings me to the next question, and that is will the US even be able to convince any other country in South East Asia (SEA) to have a MDT with VFA with them in the first place?

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