US to resume military aid to Thailand

THAILAND: The United States on Wednesday announced a resumption of military aid to Thailand suspended in the wake of the 2006 coup, after a democratically elected government was unveiled in Bangkok.

Washington is also sending Christopher Hill, the State Department’s pointman for East Asian affairs, to Bangkok to help advance relations with its oldest treaty ally in the region.

Deputy US Secretary of State John Negroponte “has determined and certified to Congress that a democratically elected government has taken office in Thailand,” Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman, said Wednesday.

It effectively removes legal restrictions on assistance to the government of Thailand imposed following the September 2006 coup, Casey said.

The action came as Thailand’s newly elected Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Wednesday unveiled his cabinet that was sworn in by King Bhumibol Adulyadej during a brief ceremony inside his Bangkok palace.

“We congratulate Thailand’s new cabinet on its inauguration, and the Thai people on their success in re-establishing an elected government,” Casey said.

Bangkok, Thursday, AFP