Thailand can benefit with Nasa at U-tapao

It is true the government could have made the decision many months ago instead of waiting for the US deadline. It had many opportunities to do so. And in delaying, it has given the Democrats the chance to do what they do best – creating disinformation and misinformation. One conspiracy theory is that Nasa works for the Pentagon and is using “climate-change research” as a pretext to deter and contain China’s influence over the region.

One commentator went as far as to suggest that giving Nasa use of U-tapao is equivalent to being “colonised” by the US. This is absurd. An Abac poll found that more than 70 per cent of Thais back the proposed Nasa mission and see no ulterior motive. Without this research, Thailand stands to miss out on atmospheric knowledge, including data to forecast climate change caused by greenhouse-gas emissions. The data might also have relevance in predicting and containing the floods that plague this country.

For the sake of argument, assuming Nasa did have an ulterior motive, it would still be in Thailand’s interest to cooperate with the US, just as it is prudent for Thailand to maintain an alliance with China. What struck me is the timing of the opposition to Nasa.  Why would opponents make a mountain out of a molehill at this particular time. The answer lies in the red-shirt rally on Sunday, which coincided with the 80th anniversary of Thailand’s shift to constitutional monarchy. The red shirts had plenty to say against the Democrats and the so-called ammart. In other words, the misinformation on Nasa diverted people’s attention away from the red shirts’ criticisms of the Democrats and their opponents.

Some readers might say this is a far-fetched claim. My response is that it is less far-fetched than the idea that Thailand would be giving away its sovereignty if Nasa uses U-tapao.

Edward Kitlertsirivatana

Bangkok